Lady Warriors prove up to large-school standards

By DONN ADAMSON\Daily Journal Sports Editor

STE. GENEVIEVE -- The leader of the MAAA small-school girls basketball conference, the Valle Lady Warriors, showed they could play with the MAAA large-school teams Wednesday night when they defeated the 12-2 Potosi Lady Trojans 56-50.

The Lady Warriors, who are now 12-1, started out a bit slow, but once they had gained the lead, they knew how to keep it as they kept every comeback try by the Lady Trojans to a minimum. Valle led by as many as 14 points, but Potosi whittled the lead down to six after Tiffany Owens hit three free throws late in the game.

Potosi's defense allowed only two shots by the Lady Warriors in the first four minutes of play, and the Lady Trojans jumped out to a 6-2 lead. Potosi's 6'0 senior, Lora Dickey contracted her second foul in the first quarter and had to take a seat until well into the second quarter.

Dickey's replacement, Brittany Chazelle started her floor appearance with a three from the left wing, and Julie McGirl scored seven points in the quarter to give the Lady Trojans a 14-6 score.

The Lady Warriors offense turned it up a notch at the start of the second quarter, scoring nine straight, unanswered points to take the lead at 15-14. The last three of the run came on a three-pointer by Danielle Donze. McGirl scored a lay-up for Potosi and the two teams tied the score up again at 17 all.

Sara Hermann hit a leaner from eight feet out, and Valle stand-out Kara Schilli drove the baseline for another two. The Lady Warriors took a 21-18 lead into the locker room at half-time.

In the third quarter, Hermann drove on Schilli trying to either get Schilli to foul or score an easy basket. Hermann got the latter as Schilli tried hard not to increase her foul total.

Valle's defense stiffened and on offense the Lady Warriors hit their free throws to gain a 10-point advantage at 37-27. The Lady Warriors hit the boards well as they hauled in six offensive boards in the third quarter.

The Lady Warriors were able to keep the 10-point lead most of the fourth quarter. With 1:42 left in the game, Dickey made a putback that cut the lead to seven points. With time running out, the Lady Trojans reverted to fouling to get the ball back, but their three-point shooting left a lot to be desired as only Chazelle hit one and Owens being fouled hit three, free throws instead.

It wouldn't be enough as the Lady Warriors fared well at the free throw line along with another three by Donze in the quarter.

Potosi, now 12-3, will return to Ste. Genevieve tonight, this time to face the Ste. Genevieve Hunters in a large-school conference game. Valle will be back in conference action tonight when they will host West County.

Potosi 14 4 9 23 - 50

Valle 6 15 16 19 - 56

SCORING:

Potosi - J McGirl 16, T Owens 15, L Dickey 11, B Chazelle 6, E Stewart 2.

3-Pointers - B Chazelle 2.

Valle - K Schilli 15, S Hermann 10, K Bergtholdt 10, A Herzog 9, D Donze 6, K Shuh 4, C Tucker 2.

3-Pointers - D Donze 2.