Monday, March 22, 1999
Mason coach: 'We just didn't get the job done'
Comets offer no excuses for loss
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The question will linger at Mason High School for years. If Beth Jones hadn't been hurt, would the Comets have won state and national championships?
“Whenever you lose a player of that caliber, it's obviously going to have some effect,” said Mason coach Gerry Lackey. “I don't want to make any excuses. You can sit here and say what if, but we just didn't get the job done. Pickerington came out and won the game.”
As it stands, Mason finished second in Ohio after losing a rematch to Pickerington 46-30 in the Division I girls state title game Saturday night. Jones, the Comets' best perimeter player, dislocated her left kneecap in Friday's semifinal victory and didn't play in the championship game.
When USA Today's national rankings are released Wednesday, Mason will fall from No.1, and the national title should go to current No.2 Chicago Marshall, which finished 31-1 and won the big-school state title in Illinois last week.
USA Today writer Dave Krider, who compiles the rankings, called it “my worst fear” realized.
Mason (26-1) could finish as high as third or fourth, with Pickerington (27-1) moving from third to second. Former No.1 Copperas Cove, Texas, which Mason replaced at the top three weeks ago, will likely be fighting with the Comets for the third spot.
The Comets insisted all sea son the national ranking was an afterthought to the state title, and senior star Dallas Williams, who finished her high school career with five points Saturday, made the point again after the loss.
“I didn't think about the national title at all,” Williams said. “I just wanted to win this game and the state title.”
How much difference would Jones have made? She played a huge role in the first game, a 53-45 Comets win. She had 18 points and was the only Mason player in double figures.
This time, the Tigers' co-Ms. Basketball LaToya Turner was again bothered by Mason's defense down low (primarily by Williams) and scored only 10 points. Guard Brittani Young made a three-pointer to give the Tigers a lead at halftime and guard Brianne Gray made two three-pointers as Pickerington pulled away in the third quarter.
Jones, Mason's best perimeter defender, watched from the bench. In the first game, her defense helped make Pickerington's outside game a rumor.
Sophomore guard Jere' Issenmann did hit three three-pointers and scored 12 points for Mason Saturday, but the rest of the Comets' outside game went scoreless.
“Beth was phenomenal when she played at Pickerington,” said Tigers coach Dave Butcher. “She hurt us bad at home.”
The only good news for the Comets: Williams, who is headed to the University of Pittsburgh, is the only contributor they lose to graduation. Jones, a junior, should be healthy for next season and center Michelle Munoz, a sophomore, may be the area's best returning post player with her 16-point average.
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