Sunday, March 05, 2000
Scott Co. shuts down Walton
Cardinals 'D' keys on Schmidt
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer contributor
WILLIAMSTOWN — Walton-Verona found out Saturday two players usually don't beat five.
Junior forward Jessica Schmidt scored 31 points and senior guard Caitlyn Ryan added 12, but Scott County won the girls 32nd District tournament at Williamstown 58-50 behind junior guard L'erin Scott's 22 points, 13 from junior guard Stacey Stakelin and 11 by junior forward Stacey Tackett.
Walton-Verona coach Tom Luebbe had no excuses.
“We came out flat,” he said. “Scott County got us out of sync.”
The Ladycats' numbers were ugly: just 9-of-48 from the field; 0-of-10 from 3-point range; Schmidt grabbed 20 rebounds but managed just 7-of-22 from the field; and Ryan was 1-of-9 from the field.
Schmidt said she was getting her shot, even though she was double-teamed all night.
“I was getting the shot, but it's hard to make them when they're hanging on you,” Schmidt said.
Said Ryan: “I didn't think it was (Scott County's) pressure. I just didn't make the shots. I just didn't do what I needed to help my team.”
Schmidt and Ryan were largely responsible for Walton-Verona's 70-51 win in December. Schmidt scored 33 points to go with Ryan's 21.
Scott County coach Kristy Orem figured one player couldn't hold Schmidt down, so she went with three: junior forward Lakeisha Washington parked behind Schmidt, and either Tackett or Stakelin helped in front.
“We stopped her a lot,” Stakelin said of Schmidt.
The Cardinals' plan worked early. Schmidt missed her first four shots, and Stakelin, Tackett and Scott gave Scott County an 8-2 lead with 1:13 to go.
Two words — not much — described Walton-Verona's offense in the first quarter. Schmidt's stickback of senior guard Katie VonHandorf's miss with a second to go was the Ladycats' only field goal.
It was a good thing Scott County's defense was working, because the offense sputtered. The Cardinals finished 21-of-57 from the field and 0-of-9 from 3-point territory.
Schmidt added 13 rebounds and a blocked shot to go with 13 first-half points, and she scored eight of her team's 13 points in the second quarter. It was enough to give Walton-Verona a 12-10 lead with 4:21 to go in the half.
Except for Schmidt and Ryan (who scored the other four points in the quarter), Walton-Verona didn't do much else on offense. The Ladycats were 3-of-22 from the field, which included Schmidt's 3-of-10.
Scott and Tackett, meanwhile, provided most of the Scott County scoring the rest of the half. Their six points apiece helped the Cardinals to a 22-17 halftime lead.
SCOTT COUNTY (58) — Garrett 0 2 2, Scott 7 8 22, Stakelin 6 1 13, Giles 1 0 2, Washington 2 4 8, Tackett 5 1 11. Totals: 21 16 58.
WALTON-VERONA (50) — C. Ryan 1 10 12, Messmer 1 2 4, Schmidt 7 17 31, Hegland 0 1 1, VonHandorf 0 2 2. Totals: 9 32 50.
Scott County 8 14 16 20 - 58
Walton-Verona 4 13 15 18 - 50
3-point goals: None. Records: SC 11-19, WV 23-6.
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