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March 11, 2008

TVCC ends season for JC women

By Don Wallace

sports@jacksonvilleprogress.com

KILGORE — The ride is over.

Jacksonville College’s run in the playoffs ended Sunday with a disappointing loss.

The Lady Jaguars ran into No. 1-seed Trinity Valley Community College in the second round of the playoffs after downing Tyler Junior College in the opening contest Friday.

The Lady Cardinals took a 58-52 win by outscoring the JC women 31-25 in the second half.

Jacksonville College made a game of it and had chances to pull the big upset, but TVCC had an answer for every JC rally. Its defense cut off passing lanes and slowed down the Jags.

“It came down to TVCC being a really good team. They are hard to beat... just look at their tradition of winning. They have good guards, posts and an experienced coach. I hope we did earn some respect in the conference,” said JC women’s head coach Lynn Nabi.

“At times against TVCC we played very good ball. Other times we got rattled. We played with a lot of heart and determination. I am proud of the girls,” Nabi said.

The JC women were picked near the bottom of Region XIV pack in the preseason polls after winning just a handful of games since 2005.

Jacksonville College was led by Sophia Piggie’s 18 points. Lorraine Odihambo contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Shene Gaskin added 11 points and seven rebounds.

TVCC had four players in double figures with Stephanie Madden pacing the squad with 12 points.

Jacksonville College closed out the first half with a 13-3 scoring run to tie the game at 27.

But the second half belonged to Trinity Valley as it controlled the boards and used a full court press to upset the momentum of the Lady Jags.

“I think we might have had four turnovers against their press; it is what they do. Teams that play them better get used to it,” Nabi said.

Trinity Valley got points from Deshawna Banks, Madden and Jasmine Nelson as it went ahead 34-29. At the 14:28 mark of the second half, Jacksonville College’s Chelsea Foy, a long range 3-point shooter, had to sit down with her fourth foul.

Piggie took up the slack and hit a 3-pointer to bring JC closer.

But TVCC kept up the pressure and got a bucket from Ebony Black and a score off a rebound by Nelson in the paint to pad the lead to 39-32.

Gaskin pumped in four quick points for the Lady Jaguars from an outside jumper and two free throws.

Trinity Valley kept scoring and went up 51-42 following a Banks drive to the rack for a bucket with 3:37 remaining.

Jacksonville tried to come back with scores from Piggie with a 3-pointer following a Dobbins bucket. Piggie popped the net on another 3-pointer, this time from the corner and JC was within striking distance down 55-52 with 41.3 seconds remaining.

Trinity Valley had the ball and the lead; the Lady Jaguars had to foul and TVCC closed out the game making three of four foul shots.

In the early going, neither team could pull away. With five minutes gone off the game clock TVCC held an 11-8 lead.

Jacksonville College turned a steal into a Piggie bucket and Gaskin added a score to get within a 14-12 margin.

The first half concluded with two steaks. TVCC got hot as it went on a 7-2 run to claim an 11-point lead 23-14 forcing JC to call a time out at the 4:55 mark.

From that point, Jacksonville College did a lot of things right as it went on a 13-3 run.

That scoring flurry on closer inspection revealed the team effort involved. Gaskin and Piggie made free throws, Odihambo added two buckets in the paint while Foy had five of the 13 points with a 3-point missile and two charity shots.

At the half, the Lady Jaguars and Lady Cards were in a dead heat, tied at 27.

The Lady Jaguars finish the year with an 18-12 mark.

“To get to where we are now, from where we started is an accomplishment. It’s because the young ladies on the team believed in me and the program. Now we to go recruiting and replace some very good players.

“I’m sad this season is over. I always think my teams have enough juice to go another game. But we didn’t this time,” Nabi added.



Scoring summary

Score by halves

Jacksonville 27-25-52

TVCC 27-31-58

Jacksonville- Shene Gaskin, 11; Chelsea Foy, 8; Shonta Dobbins, 4; Lorraine Odihambo, 11; Sophia Piggie, 18. 3-point goals - 6-21, Foy (2), Piggie (4). Rebounds, 32 total, Odihambo (10), Piggie (8), Gaskin (7).

Trinity Valley - Darika Hill, 7; Jasmine Nelson, 10; Brittney Brumfield, 2; Ashley Walker, 4; Shareese Ulis, 10; Stephanie Madden, 12; Deshawna Banks, 10; Ebony Black, 2; Brianna Goss, 1. 3-point goals, 5-25, Banks (2), Ulis, Hill, Walker. Rebounds 37 total, Hill (10), Nelson (7).

Records — Jacksonville College 18-12; TVCC, 25-5.

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