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Lady Bears end season against Southern Lab (published March 3, 2010)
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After taking down Varnado 58-54 in the second round of the play-offs, the Block
Lady Bears' dream of a second State Championship in a row ended last Thursday
when BHS fell just three points shy, 37-34 of Southern Lab in the
quarterfinals.
The game was a rematch of last year’s Class 1A semifinal game where the Lady Bears came out on top on their way to
eventually capturing the state championship.
While both Block and Southern Lab lost several key players from last year’s squads, the Lady Kittens were seeking to avenge that loss with a berth in the
Ladies
’ Top 28 Tournament on the line.
Southern Lab jumped out to an early lead and held off a late rally by Block to
defeat the Lady Bears in the low-scoring battle.
“We were down 14 in the first quarter. We had problems with their press. We
turned the ball over a lot,
” Block head coach Kristy King said. “The big difference was they had the momentum in the first quarter.”
Block went into a man-to-man defense in the second quarter and cut the Lady Kittens’ lead to nine points at halftime. The Lady Bears continued to chip away at the
lead in the third quarter and tied it up in the fourth quarter.
But Southern Lab, the No. 5 seed, made some key shots down the stretch and held
on for the three-point win.
“We used too much energy trying to come back. If we hadn’t been down 14, who knows what would’ve happened,” King said. “Those young kids, I was glad to have three young kids start. Losing Tyra Jefferson will be tough. We’re losing 20 points a game. No. 42, our junior, Desiree Savage, had a good game.”
Block, which entered the playoffs as the No. 20 seed, finished its season with a
16-15 overall record.
Lady Bears vs. Varnado - Photos by Candy Fairbanks
Bears win bi-district round of play-offs (published March 3, 2010)
The Block Bears cinched their third win of the season against Northwood-Lena
last week in the bi-district round of the state play-offs.
Even though Block had double-digit wins over the Gators in their two district
games during the regular season, head coach K.G. Watkins had to be concerned
about playing the same team for the third time.
And at one point during the second half of the game that concern almost became
reality as Northwood-Lena got close, but Block
’s defense in the fourth quarter wore the Gators down and the Bears pulled out a
hard-fought 69-58 win.
“We’re really a very good defensive squad. We live off fast-break turnovers. It
worked out for us tonight,
” Watkins said.
So does having all five starters score in double figures. Javan Dunbar and Fred
Green each led No. 13 seed Block with 14 points apiece. Preston Bowman finished
with 12 points while Jerome Jefferson and Antoine Bowie had 11 points each.
But even that could have been all for naught after No. 20 seed Northwood-Lena
rallied from a 23-14 deficit after one quarter of play and cut Block
’s lead to a mere one point at the end of the third quarter.
Jonathan Turner and Tanner Grigg were key in keeping the Gators in the game
after their slow start. Turner led all scorers with 23 points and Grigg added
11 points.
“The third quarter, they came out real aggressive and got back in the game,” Watkins said. “We came out a little laxidaisical. We turned it up defensively in the fourth
quarter. We
’re fortunate it didn’t come down to the end because we didn’t shoot the ball well.”
Block (14-13) put the Gators away with a 19-9 advantage in the final eight
minutes. The Bears will take on the winner of the Vermillion Catholic-North
Central game this week.