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The West Frankfort Lady Redbirds took the opening tip of their Senior Night contest against Murphysboro Monday night, and just 17 seconds into the game, senior Gena Jones found herself at the free throw line giving her squad the only lead it would need in what would become a theme during their 53-28 stomping of The Lady Red Devils. Classmate Genni Hickey quietly pumped in 14, while sophomore Alyssa Sturgeon paced the Murphysboro attack with seven.
Just 21 points shy of cracking the 1,000 point barrier for her career at the start of the tilt, Jones appeared to be on a mission from the game's outset, pouring in 14 of her game high 26 points in the first frame alone. Matched up against 5'3 Murphysboro guard Nykeshia Dowell for much of the early going, the 5'9 Jones used seemingly every method of attack in her post arsenal to accrue her gaudy first quarter stats. Jones converted on a bump and a bucket with 6:36 remaining, found the bottom of the net on a turnaround banker with 2:42 remaining, employed a nifty right-handed flip at the 2:20 mark and added an inside bucket with 1:16 remaining, putting the Lady Redbirds on top 21-7; all of this wrapped around a strong 5-6 performance from the charity stripe.
“What can you say,” head coach Matt Hampleman asked rhetorically when asked about Jones' outstanding performance after the game. “We've got a lot of great kids on this team and she just happens to be one of them. Going into the game we tried to downplay it,” he said of her run at 1,000 in front of the home crowd on Senior Night. “We tried not to make that big of a deal of it, but she started off hot right away and quite honestly, going into Massac County on Thursday I'm kind of glad it's over with. She got her 1,000 points, she got it at home, she got it on Senior Night and she had a great game. I don't know that she could have played any better in the first half.”
Jones and her squad were firmly in command at the first break, leading 21-9, and she continued her strong play in the second. Jones dropped in a post bucket just 31 seconds into the second, before converting yet another pair of free throws with 6:07 left in the half to up her point total to 20, just one shy of the coveted mark. But the Lady Red Devils had absolutely no answer for Jones' post presence in particular, and with 4:22 left in the frame Jones hit an inside shot to push her across the threshold.
The West Frankfort Lady Redbirds took the opening tip of their Senior Night contest against Murphysboro Monday night, and just 17 seconds into the game, senior Gena Jones found herself at the free throw line giving her squad the only lead it would need in what would become a theme during their 53-28 stomping of The Lady Red Devils. Classmate Genni Hickey quietly pumped in 14, while sophomore Alyssa Sturgeon paced the Murphysboro attack with seven.
Just 21 points shy of cracking the 1,000 point barrier for her career at the start of the tilt, Jones appeared to be on a mission from the game's outset, pouring in 14 of her game high 26 points in the first frame alone. Matched up against 5'3 Murphysboro guard Nykeshia Dowell for much of the early going, the 5'9 Jones used seemingly every method of attack in her post arsenal to accrue her gaudy first quarter stats. Jones converted on a bump and a bucket with 6:36 remaining, found the bottom of the net on a turnaround banker with 2:42 remaining, employed a nifty right-handed flip at the 2:20 mark and added an inside bucket with 1:16 remaining, putting the Lady Redbirds on top 21-7; all of this wrapped around a strong 5-6 performance from the charity stripe.
“What can you say,” head coach Matt Hampleman asked rhetorically when asked about Jones' outstanding performance after the game. “We've got a lot of great kids on this team and she just happens to be one of them. Going into the game we tried to downplay it,” he said of her run at 1,000 in front of the home crowd on Senior Night. “We tried not to make that big of a deal of it, but she started off hot right away and quite honestly, going into Massac County on Thursday I'm kind of glad it's over with. She got her 1,000 points, she got it at home, she got it on Senior Night and she had a great game. I don't know that she could have played any better in the first half.”
Jones and her squad were firmly in command at the first break, leading 21-9, and she continued her strong play in the second. Jones dropped in a post bucket just 31 seconds into the second, before converting yet another pair of free throws with 6:07 left in the half to up her point total to 20, just one shy of the coveted mark. But the Lady Red Devils had absolutely no answer for Jones' post presence in particular, and with 4:22 left in the frame Jones hit an inside shot to push her across the threshold.
After a brief break in the action to mark the occasion, the Lady Redbirds once more got back to business, architecting a 38-18 halftime lead that they would never relinquish.
“We took her out there for a minute not just to get her a quick breather, but also to let the home fans show their appreciation,” Hampleman said. “She deserved it. She's been a heck of a player for us here. And you could tell the team wanted (the scoring mark) for her too. Honestly, she's been a great team player, she's scored her 1,000 points and she's played on teams that have won 20 games or more consecutively the last three years. She's a fierce competitor and it's a great honor for her. This puts her in the upper echelon on players who have worn a Lady Redbird uniform.”
As previously mentioned, the Lady Redbirds will once again take to the hardwood Thursday night at Massac County. They currently stand atop the SIRR-Ohio Division and boast an overall record of 20-4. In junior varsity action the Lady Redbirds' comeback effort fell short, as they lost to the Lady Red Devils 40-33.
FCHS 21 38 45 53
MHS 918 20 28
West Frankfort - Jones: 8 0 11 10 26, Hickey: 4 0 6 6 14, Bymaster: 1 0 4 1 3, White: 1 0 2 1 4, Chromchak: 0 0 6 5 5
