GREENVILLE – The Lady Tigers of Versailles and the Lady Eagles of Eaton both had dreams of bringing home the championship of the 2015 Annie Oakley Shootout, but it was Versailles winning out 71-28 at Greenville High School.
The first six minutes of Saturday night’s action did little to decide a winner. Junior Sarah Flora of Eaton converted two free throws to bring the score to 14-12 with Versailles leading with 1:24 remaining in the first quarter. The Lady Eagles would score only two more points in the first half.
In the beginning of the game Eaton had some success against the Lady Tigers full-court press by making a long baseball pass into the backcourt on the inbounds play. This advantage didn’t last long.
“We made adjustments,” Versailles girls basketball coach Jacki Stonebraker said. “We put on 6-2 girl on the ball.”
As the Lady Tigers’ press became more effective, their offense also came to life. They began to move the ball from side to side and in and out against the Lady Eagle zone defense. Two consecutive trips down the floor resulted in easy field goals as a result of running these plays.
“We’re not clicking on all cylinders on offense yet,” Stonebraker said. “We’re starting to see the open person. Starting to dish, not just look for the shot.”
Two free throws by senior Kristin Langston increased the Versailles lead to 20-12 after one quarter.
Eaton opened the scoring of the second quarter with a basket, but that would be its lone offensive tally for the period. The Lady Tiger defense shut down the Lady Eagle offense and would not let them get the shots they were looking for
Versailles began getting offensive rebounds and the second chance points that come with them.
“We’ve been big for so long, spoiled by length,” Stonebraker said. “Rebounding is based on positioning. It’s a feel. Emily Marshal got a lot of boards by being in the right place at the right time.”
Versailles closed out the second quarter on a 13-0 run that gave the Tigers a halftime lead of 33-14.
The Lady Tigers used the same formula of running an efficient offense, combined with good rebounding and relentless defense. Versailles is always looking to pick up the tempo of the game whether on offense or defense. The defensive philosophy, “deny every pass, nothing comes easy. Don’t give anything up easy.”
The victory pushes Versailles record to 2-0 and brings home another Annie Oakley Shootout championship.
“Emotions are high,” Stonebraker said. “The girls are excited.”
Versailles- 71 2 3 FTM FTA PTS
McEldowney 1 3 2 2 13
Langston 1 1 2 2 7
Blakeley 0 0 1 2 1
Langenkamp 3 0 0 2 6
Ording 2 0 2 2 6
Peters 2 0 2 2 6
Shimp 3 0 1 1 7
D. Winner 5 0 0 0 10
Monnin 4 0 4 8 12
Marshal 0 0 3 4 3
Totals 21 4 17 25 71
Eaton- 28 2 3 FTM FTA PTS
Whitesell 2 0 0 0 4
Worley 0 0 2 2 2
Lamberson 2 0 2 2 6
Lipps 1 0 0 0 2
Titus 3 0 2 2 8
Bowman 2 0 2 2 6
Totals 10 0 8 8 28
Eaton 12 2 6 8 28
Versailles 20 13 17 21 71
