Friday, February 18, 2000
Defense, Munoz rally Mason girls
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Defense is the main focus of Mason's girls basketball practices. Thursday, it paid big dividends
Suffering a poor shooting night, the Comets used tough defense to beat Seton 51-30 in the Division I sectional tournament at Lakota East.
Mason also got a big night from junior center Michelle Munoz, who led the Comets (21-0) with 25 points, 19 in the second half.
“We probably had a case of the jitters tonight,” said Munoz, who sat out much of the first half with two fouls. “During the day, I had butterflies, but that got me hyped up for the game.”
The victory advances Mason to the sectional championship game Thursday against an opponent to be determined.
“We go through a hundred defensive drills everyday,” Mason senior guard Racquel Ellis said. “We've had several off-shooting games this season, but the defense has carried us .”
Employing sticky man-to-man with pressure on the outside, Mason held Seton to nine points in the first half and built a 24-9 lead. The Saints were only 4-of-28 from the field in the half.
“The defense definitely carried us,” Mason coach Gerry Lackey said.
A rejuvenated and well-rested Munoz took charge in the second half. She scored nine in the third quarter and the first 10 of the fourth to spark the Comets.
“We didn't say anything to Michelle at halftime,” Lackey said. “Whenever she's on the floor, we try to go to her. It hurt when she was on the bench in the first half.”
The tempo of the game picked up early in the third quarter.
Seton decided to abandon its half-court offense and push the ball up the floor. Senior guard Amy Holmes responded with nine points, rallying the Saints within 11 points at 33-22.
Munoz's fourth-quarter explosion pushed the lead back to 47-25 with 3:03 to play.
Seton had one of its worst shooting nights of the season, hitting only 13-of-61 from the field and 2-of-4 from the free throw line.
“We're weren't intimidated but we never got on a roll,” Seton coach Theresa Shepherd said.
Lackey was impressed with Holmes, who scored 17 points.
“We're lucky she was the only Seton player who had a good night,” Lackey said.
SETON (30) — Robbins 2 2 6, Kelsey 1 0 2, A. Holmes 8 0 17, E. Meyer 1 0 2, A. Meyer 1 0 2, M. Holmes 0 1 1. Totals: 13 2 30.
MASON (51) — Richardson 0 1 1, Lippert 1 0 2, Ellis 1 0 2, Minnich 1 1 3, Issenmann 1 0 3, Jones 4 0 11, Munoz 9 7 25, Imbus 2 0 4. Totals: 17 9 51.
Seton ....... 6 3 15 6—30
Mason ....... 12 12 13 14—51
3-pointers: S—A. Holmes. S—Issenmann, Jones 3. Records: M 21-0, S 8-13.
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