Mandeville (22-3), the No. 11 seed, now advances to the Ladies Top 28 Tournament March 1-6 at the Southeastern Louisiana University Center in Hammond. The Lady Skippers play second-seeded Southwood Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Southwood beat No. 7 Walker 36-24.
The Lady Skippers, coached by T.A. Ricks who is in his 20th season at the helm, was pumped following his team’s come from behind victory over the No. 3 seed St. Thomas More, which finished the season at 31-4.
 Mandeville sophomore Katie Lindelow goes up for an inside basketball Thursday night against St. Thomas More in the quarterfinal playoff action at MHS. Lindelow pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds. She also scored six points to go with four steals and three assists. MHS edged St. Thomas More, the No. 3 seed, 57-53 to advance to the semifinals. (Staff Photo by Mike Pervel) |
Tracey talked about the importance of hitting free throws.
“I started out making one and then missing one each time down. I say it every time, shooting free throws is just a mental thing. You step up there and you have to focus. At the end of the game we all knew we had to do it. We had to step up and we were able to finish,” Tracey said.
“We were pumped before the game, but we were nervous. We are young and inexperienced. Nobody thought we would get to the third round. Everybody thought it was going to be a rebuilding season. We felt we could do something this season and we have,” Tracey added.
MHS freshman Kali Koenig had a superb outing dropping in 17 points and clicked on 3-of-5 free throws, while pulling down five rebounds and dished off four assists.
“This was the biggest game of the season. Being a freshman, I just tried to fight as hard as I could,” Koenig said.
“It was a great team effort. We couldn’t have done this without a whole team effort. It was a huge team effort with Ellie (Niedermair) and Kate (Wynne) coming off the bench hitting shots. It was just amazing,” said the freshman guard.
Sophomore Katie Lindelow came up big for the Lady Skippers dropping in six points, but more importantly did good work on the boards, hauling in a team-high 12 rebounds. Lindelow also had four steals with three assists.
Kelsey Sparks, the Lady Skippers’ lone senior, did her part despite running into foul trouble contributing four rebounds. Perhaps the biggest rebound of her career came with about eight seconds remaining she battled three Lady Cougars and was able to out hustle and control the ball with MHS clinging to a 56-53 advantage. Koenig was fouled after taking a pass from Sparks with 6.2 seconds to go. Koenig missed the first freebie, but refocused and dropped in her second, which made it a two-possession game putting the Lady Skippers in the driver’s seat.
Sparks, who is a miraculous story in her own right battling and recovering from a serious illness, talked about her late key rebound.
“I knew I had to be strong and I knew how important it was so I just had to hustle and not foul somehow. I guess I just had to get up to get it done,” Sparks said.
“It was really upsetting late in the game because as a senior I didn’t want this to be my last game. Basketball is really important to me and it is a big part of my life. I didn’t want it to be over,” Sparks added.
Sparks talked about her teammates youth.
“I got in foul trouble so I was out most of the game. Our players are so young and they are just amazing for their age or any age. They are awesome,” said the team’s senior leader.
St. Thomas More junior Brooklyn Arceneaux turned in a valiant effort with a game-high 28 points including all 11 of her team’s points in the second quarter. Junior Robbie Brown finished with 11 points and Lauren Olivier added eight points connecting on two 3-pointers and two free throws.
The highly regarded St. Thomas More jumped out to an early lead forcing the youthful Mandeville club into committing 10 turnovers as the Lady Cougars raced out to a 20-8 first quarter lead. Arceneaux led the way with nine points in the quarter, while Olivier chipped in with five and Kia Wilridge added four. Koenig tallied four points and Tracey delivered a three-ball for MHS.
In the second quarter, Mandeville trailed by as much as 17-points, 27-10 with 6:32 left in the first half.
Mandeville was able to gain their composure on offense and turn things around in the second quarter outscoring STM 19-11 to get back into the contest.
MHS’ Kate Wynne hit a basket, which started a six-point run. Koenig made a steal and converted a lay up and then knocked down a short jumper from the left side of the key to cut St. Thomas More’s lead to 27-16 with 3:58 left in the half. Arceneaux stopped the MHS run with a basket and a free throw.
With STM leading 31-17 at the 3:36 mark, the Mandeville defense stepped up its pressure forcing the Lady Cougars into six consecutive turnovers and a final missed shot. Mande-ville capitalized on its change of fortune on the defensive end igniting its offense with transition points reeling off the final 10 points of the second quarter.
Tracey hit a free throw, a 3-pointer and the final basket during the critical run, while Lindelow made a steal, hit a layup and converted a free throw after being fouled. Lindelow made another key contribution putting back a missed shot after positioning herself in the lane with 1:28 left. Tracey’s bucket with 36 seconds left cut the St. Thomas More margin to just four points at 31-27 heading to the locker room.
The contest heated up to an intense battle in the third quarter with neither club giving in as both squads tallied 12 points to keep it a four point game at 43-39 entering the final quarter.
Mandeville set the tempo early in the fourth quarter scoring six unanswered points. Koenig hit a jumper and Tracey followed with a steal hitting a layup to tie the game at 43-43 with 7:15 left. Following a Lindelow blocked shot Koenig drained a jumper to give the Lady Skippers the lead at 45-43 with 6:22 to go.
Coach Ricks said the victory before a packed, enthusiastic crowd felt wonderful.
“It’s the first time I will have been there (semifinals) and for these young ladies, it is so good for them. They have worked so hard all year long. They have gotten much better and they believed in me, and what I tried to teach them. They surely came through,” Ricks said.
“When you’ve never been to the final four it means a great deal. To have these girls have an opportunity to maybe win state it means a great deal. To have one senior and the rest freshmen and sophomores that would be great,” Ricks added.
Ricks said his players came out too hyped up and were nervous, but credited them with settling down and taking care of business.
He said freshman Ellie Niedermair and sophomore Kate Wynne did a super job of coming off the bench.
“We ended up getting in foul trouble with Elizabeth (Manuel) and Kelsey (Sparks). They came in and were solid,” the long-time Skipper mentor said.
The game became a nip and tuck affair from that point on with both teams battling back to recapture the lead.
St. Thomas More held a 51-46 lead on an Arceneaux basket, but sophomore Elizabeth Manuel, who finished with eight points, answered with a 3-pointer to keep the Lady Skippers in it to cut the lead to two points with 2:32 left.
Mandeville continued to play long ball with Tracey doing the honors downing a 3-pointer off an assist from Koenig to recapture the lead at 52-51 with 1:36 remaining.
STM turned the ball over on its next possession, but MHS returned the favor with Brown making a steal at mid-court and finished a lay up to regain the lead at 53-52 and just 1:14 to play.
At the 56 second mark, Manuel was fouled and stepped to the line cashing in on both attempts to put MHS back in front 54-53.
The jitters got to both clubs as they each turned over the ball on subsequent possessions.
With just 19 seconds left, Tracey was fouled and calmly sank both free throws to make it a 56-53 game and Koenig made one-of-two charity tosses to close out the scoring. ď¿˝
View Jobs
View Homes
View Autos
Comments