Friday, February 26, 1999
Mason's 'D' keys victory
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
It's not the 88 points the Mason Comets scored Thursday night that defines their greatness — it's the 41 points allowed.
Mason's 88-41 victory over a solid 16-6 Lebanon team in the girls Cincinnati Division I upper bracket sectional final at Lakota East was built on defense — suffocating with constant pressure on the ball.
“That's what we love to do the most and that's the biggest thing stressed by Coach (Gerry) Lackey,” said junior guard Beth Jones, who tied senior forward Dallas Williams for game-high scoring honors with 24 points.
Mason led 19-8 after one quarter Thursday, then buried Lebanon with a 15-0 run to start the second quarter. During the run, Mason scored on 7-of-8 straight possessions, while Lebanon lost the ball to Mason steals five times.
“I didn't think we were so out of sync as it was their defense eating us alive,” said Lebanon coach Tom Hoverman, whose team also lost to Mason two times during the regular season. “Turnovers out front just turn into layups for them.”
“I thought we did a good job both offensively and defensively,” Lackey said.
Michelle Munoz, a 6-foot sophomore who missed two days of practice this week with an illness, went into the middle of Mason's pressure and came out with three straight steals at one point in the second quarter by knocking down passes. She finished with 11 points.
Mason, 22-0 and ranked No.1 in the state and No.2 nationally by USA Today, advances to meet the Milford upper bracket sectional champion in district play March 6 (1:45 p.m. at Wilmington College.
Lebanon was led by Kelly Bunting's 13 points. Junior Lindsay Hicks added 12 points, good enough to move past Steve Lewis and become the all-time leading basketball scorer for both boys and girls in Lebanon history.
LEBANON (41) — Gregory 1 0 2, McVey 1 0 3, Bunting 5 3 13, Prosperi 2 0 4, Hicks 4 2 12, Howard 1 0 3, Siehl 1 0 2, Hedges 1 0 2. Totals: 16 5 41.
MASON (88) — Ellis 2 0 4, Issenmann 3 0 8, Munoz 4 3 11, Williams 9 6 24, Jones 10 0 24, Lippert 4 1 9, Stein 2 0 6, Imbus 0 2 2. Totals: 34 12 88.
Lebanon ....... 8 5 14 14—41
Mason ....... 19 24 23 22—88
Three-point goals: L - McVey, Hicks 2, Howard; M - Issenmann 2, Jones 4, Stein 2. Records: L 16-6, M 22-0.
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