D-I GIRLS SECTIONAL FINAL LAKOTA WEST 78, TURPIN 56
Firebirds win filled with 'peaks and valleys'
Turpin turns ball over 30 times and West takes advantage in grabbing sectional title.
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Saturday, February 16, 2008
HARRISON — Lakota West High School's girls basketball team is headed to the district finals for the sixth time in the last seven years.
But the top-seeded Firebirds' 78-56 victory over No. 18 Turpin in a Division I sectional final Friday night, Feb. 15, at Harrison High School wasn't pretty.
Extras
In fact, according to veteran West coach Andy Fishman, the win was filled with "peaks and valleys."
"We have to get back to doing the things that made us one of the top teams in the state," Fishman said. "It starts with greater focus, a more coachable attitude and an attention to detail.
"We have to have a greater purpose to match our effort out there," he continued. "It's not about how many we score. It's about doing the little things that make us difficult to play, and the girls are capable of doing it."
Senior Amber Gray led all scorers with 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting and also had six steals, five rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
Junior Alexis Rogers added 11 points for West, which committed 20 turnovers and allowed the Spartans to shoot 48.3 percent (14-of-29) in the second half.
"We won," Gray said, "and that's all I can say. It's all about focus and effort. We've got a good team. We've got to bounce back pretty fast."
The third-ranked Firebirds (22-1) will face the winner of today's sectional final matchup between sixth-ranked Dayton Chaminade-Julienne and Clayton Northmont in the district finals Saturday, Feb. 23, at Harrison.
West exploded on a 26-5 run that spanned more than six minutes in the first half to grab control of the game.
Its largest lead was 51-26 with 7:35 to go in the third frame, but Turpin (15-8) was able to get as close as 14 twice late in the quarter.
"I couldn't be more thrilled with the effort of our girls tonight," Spartans coach Dale Haarman said. "You can see the difference in size and athletic ability in Lakota West, but we decided not to back down and be afraid."
Turpin placed three players in double figures — Sidnei Harmon (17), Natalie Starr (15) and Jesse Harrigan (12) — while coughing the ball up 30 times that led to 26 points for West.
"We have to play every game like it's the state championship," Fishman said. "By doing that, we'll be able to play our best basketball. We can't walk out there and think we'll win automatically because we're Lakota West."
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or smatthews@coxohio.com.
