Propelled by 19 points from senior Gena Jones and a strong second-half effort, the Lady Redbirds dispatched a game Sesser-Valier-Waltonville squad Saturday afternoon at Max Morris Gymnasium to open their Mid-Winter Classic in style with a 47-38 victory.
After leaping out to a 5-0 lead, West Frankfort watched helplessly as the Lady Devils went on an 8-0 tear to take the lead at the 4:00 minute mark in the first. However, propelled by a bucket from senior Sarah White at the :30 point and a nifty up-fake and drive to the bucket from sophomore Jasmine Chromchack, the Lady Redbirds pulled within three as the quarter drew to a close.
The Lady Redbirds traded the lead back-and-forth with S-V-W throughout the second, battling back to within one point at the half, 22-21.
Head coach Matt Hampleman attributed his team’s deficit to early-game jitters and an inability to knock down easy buckets. “In the first half, I didn’t think we shot the ball very well,” said Hampleman after the contest. “We missed a lot of easy shot and several free-throws. Quite honestly, we were lucky it was a one-point game headed into halftime.”
West Frankfort regained their sea legs during the third, outscoring the Lady Devils 10-4 on their way to engineering a 31-26 lead headed into the fourth. Jones knocked down a smooth jumper at the 6:02 mark to aid the Lady Redbirds’ cause, and senior Genni Hickey found Jones inside with 3:31 remaining in the third to put West Frankfort on top, 26-25. A bucket from senior Amy Bymaster at the 2:01 mark, a pair of Hickey free throws and a Jones driving bucket with :15 left helped propel the lady ‘Birds to a lead they would never relinquish.
Hampleman pointed to his squad’s offensive execution in the second half as the reason for the turnaround, but warned that this may not be the last the Lady Redbirds see of S-V-W.
“I thought late in the game we did a good job of running our offense and recognizing when certain people were open,” said Hampleman. “I thought Genni Hickey and Gena Jones did a nice job for us.
They’re not going to be able to be an offensive force for us every night, but they do so many other things it seems they always find a way to contribute. Hopefully this is not the last time we see this team,” he added. “I would think they’ll be in our Regional and if things go the way I think they’ll go we could meet up again in about three weeks. Then again if we don’t put together 32 minutes of good basketball, we could be out of it just as quickly as we started.”
With the win, FCHS’ season mark moves to 15-3. Sesser-Valier-Waltonville drops to 13-5. The Lady Redbirds will be back in Mid-Winter Classic action Tuesday night, when they tip off against Pinckneyville at 7:30 p.m.
FCHS: 10 21 31 47
SVW: 13 22 26 38
White: 1 0 0 0 2, Bymaster: 4 0 9 2 10, Hickey: 0 1 4 3 6, Jones: 8 0 6 3 19, Chromchack: 3 0 2 2 8, K. Glodich: 1 0 0 0 2.
