Wednesday, March 08, 2000
Mason advances with 68-19 win
Jones' 21 help Comets reach region finals
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FAIRBORN — The same trend that has followed the Mason girls basketball team throughout the postseason tournament took place again at Wright State University.
It goes something like this:
Leading scorer Michelle Munoz picks up two fouls during the first four minutes and is forced to the bench. Another Comets starter rises to the occasion, and Mason goes on to win.
Tuesday night it was senior forward Beth Jones who stepped up, scoring 21 points — 17 in the first half — as Mason handed Clayton Northmont a 68-19 drubbing in the Division I regional semifinals.
The victory advances Mason to the regional championship for the fourth consecutive season. The Comets meet Beavercreek at noon Saturday in a repeat of the 1999 title game.
“We talked the past two days about picking up the defensive intensity,” Mason coach Gerry Lackey said. “The girls did a good job right from the beginning and kept them from getting into an offensive flow.”
With Munoz in the lineup to start the game, Mason took a 10-0 lead over a bewildered Northmont team that was unable to handle the Comets' full-court press and half-court trap.
But when Munoz went to the bench with 3:57 remaining in the first quarter, Jones took over.
The Purdue-bound Jones sank four consecutive 3-pointers, and Susan Lippert and Jere' Issenmann each hit one as the Comets jumped out to a 34-9 halftime lead.
“It's hard for me to say what happened,” Northmont coach Chuck Harlow said. “We thought we were prepared for their pressure. We then got into a hurry and launched a few, and we're not a launch team.”
Lippert said Mason reaches down for a little extra when Munoz is in foul trouble.
“All of us feel inside that we need to pick it up a notch,” Lippert said. “We're used to Michelle getting the rebounds, and we box out better and play harder.”
Munoz returned in the third quarter, scoring 10 points when the Comets opened up a 53-13 lead.
“Beth stepped up tonight, but that's pretty much been our strength,” Lackey said. “When one player is off, another comes on, and that makes us hard to defend.”
The Comets won the first game in last year's regional final over Beavercreek and also defeated the Beavers 53-41 in December after falling behind 15-0.
CLAYTON NORTHMONT (19) — Kytla 1-2 0-0 2, Bakos 1-5 2-2 4, Rench 3-33-4 9, Hemmelgarn 0-2 0-0 0, Kincer 0-3 0-0 0, Shivley 0-3 0-2 0, Burneka 1-6 0-0 2, Donathon 1-8 0-0 2, Bailey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 7-34 5-8 19.
MASON (68) — Issenmann 4-7 3-6 11, Munoz 7-8 1-1 15, Ellis 2-3 2-4 6, Jones 8-15 0-1 21, Stein 2-4 0-1 4, Richardson 1-1 0-1 2, Lippert 2-3 0-0 6, Minnich 1-3 1-2 3, Russell 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 27-47 4-10 68.
Northmont ....... 1 8 4 6—19
Mason ....... 15 19 19 15—68
3-pointers: M (10-19) Jones 5, Issenmann, Lippert 2. N (0-11). Rebounds: M 29 (Munoz 4, Jones 4, Stein 4, Richardson 4). N 24 (Kytla 8). Assists: M 22 (Issenmann 6, Shull 3, Jones 4). N 3. Turnovers: M 16, N 28. Officials: Wendy Cheely, Mike Gill, Julius Palazzo. Records: Northmont 21-4, Mason 24-0. Attendance: 3,500.
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