Published: February 20, 2008 04:29 pm            

Cherry sparks Lady Hornets past top-ranked University

Just after his team defeated St. Joe of Augustine to advance to the semi-final round of the girls regional basketball tournament, Lafayette coach Jimmy Blankenship stated that his team had to be able to covert their free throws if they are to defeat a good team. Against top-ranked Jacksonville University free throw shooting was the name of the game with the Lady Hornets pulling out a thrilling 58-49 win. The victory sent Lafayette to the regional finals.

In the fourth quarter the Lady Hornets sank 11 of 15 attempts in putting the game away. “Lately we had been missing our free throws,” said Coach Blankenship. “The girls were focused. They knew Nat (Natalie Land) was out. They stepped to the line. Claimed. They were knocking them down and did a great job shooting the free throws.”

Land, the Lady Hornets leading scorer, picked up her fifth foul with 6:07 left in the game. It was a quiet gymnasium as she departed the court to the bench. The question was, “who would pick up the slack?” That would be Sharhonda Cherry, who sank four consecutive free throws within the final 17 seconds to preserve the win.

“She seemed a little lost in the first half,” said Blankenship of senior guard. “We thought if she wasn’t going to get into the flow of the game we were going have to sub there. But she came out in the second half and I don’t know how many three’s she hit (Cherry hit two very big three-pointers) but they were big time when we needed them. She did a great job for us. She is a senior and she did not want to go home.”

Jacksonville came in ranked number one in Class 2A girls basketball while the Lady Hornets held the number three ranking in the state. The win improved Lafayette’s record to 26-2 while Jacksonville ended their season at 27-2.

After Land picked up her fifth personal foul on a questionable charging call, sophomore Sunshine Reid and freshman Cartesha Macklin shoulder the load along with Cherry in securing the win. The Hornets became very patient on offense working the clock and taking only shots inside the paint or the free throw line.

One of the bigger plays of the game came with 33 seconds left to play when Kelsey Land pulled down a rebound off the defensive board after Jacksonville had already had three shots at the basket. With the rebound Lafayette called a time out to set up the final seconds.

“Kelsey is a tough player. She brings a lot to the table for us,” said the Lady Hornet mentor. “She does a great job underneath the basket. It is just that grit they have. She knows her role and she knows we need a rebound.”

It was a packed Dorothy Buchanan Hart Gymnasium who witnessed two of the top teams in the state going after each other. University jumped out quick in the first quarter led by Jackie English. The Lady Hornets caught them at 6-6 and the game was tied again at 8-8. The last time the game was tied was at 27-27 at half time.

Lafayette, using pressure defense, roared out to a 10-point advantage, 27-17 on basket by Reid with 2:40 to play in the half. University scored the next 10 points when English drilled back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game with 17 seconds to play. Lafayette would build a 38-31 lead with 2:46 left in the third period and led 43-39 going into the fourth quarter.

The Lady Hornets built a 50-42 lead with 3:31 to play in the game but had to with stand one last push by University. The Lady Hornet’s ball handling down the stretch was outstanding as Jacksonville could do nothing but put shooters at the charity stripe where Lafayette six straight.

Cherry led the Lady Hornets scoring with 16 points, all in the second half. Macklin netted 14 points and Reid finished with 12. Land, who drew the blunt of University’s defense, tossed in seven before fouling out. Kelsey Land hit a three-pointer for her three points. TaQuelia Macklin added two points.

For Lafayette, Reid had seven assists in the game and hauled in 13 rebounds. Land finished with five assists and 11 rebounds (unofficial). She had five steals. Macklin pulled down seven boards for Lafayette and came up with four steals.

English led all scorer’s with 21 points for Jacksonville University. She had four treys in the game. Jasmine Wynne scored 12 points as the only two in double figures.

        

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