GISA 2-AAA: Mount De Sales Boys Win First Region Title Since ’97

By Jonathan Heeter, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

Feb. 11–It started as a 3-point shootout between Stratford’s Russell Henley and Mount de Sales’ Josh Miller. But the GISA Region 2-AAA championship game was won from the foul line. Mount de Sales (20-7) made 9 of 13 at the line in fourth quarter to beat Stratford 57-44 and win its first region title since 1997. “This is very special,” MdS coach Travis Dotterer said. “To come from where we were last season to winning a region title is special. I’m just so proud of this group.” Miller scored a season-high 23 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers extended an eight-point lead after three periods to a 13-point win. “We’ve had some struggles with free throws this season,” Miller said. “Coach emphasized making foul shots and we came through and did that tonight.” MdS, which won just eight games a year ago, beat Stratford three times this season. “That’s no easy task for any team,” Dotterer said. “But it was even tougher to beat a team that’s as good as Stratford.” It didn’t appear that MdS would win with such a cushy margin early in the game. Miller made three 3-pointers in the first quarter, while Henley added two and helped Stratford gain an 18-14 lead after the quarter. But Mount de Sales controlled the pace from late in the second quarter through much of the third. Henley made two third-quarter triples to cut a MdS lead to three points late in the quarter. But Miller made a 3-pointer and Michael Conforti hit a jumper at the buzzer to give the Cavaliers a 50-45 lead. After scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers’ lead was safe. “It was a lot of fun going back and forth with Henley,” Miller said. “He’s such a great player and it was a challenge.” Stratford’s girls stopped short of calling Thursday’s win over Tattnall Square a wake-up call. They did, however, say that the 54-41 win — the closest game against a region team this season — helped remind them to stay focused. The Eaglettes (26-0) scored 22 points in the first quarter, a season high for the opening quarter, and cruised to a second-consecutive region crown with a 63-31 romp of Central Fellowship on Friday night. “We just knew we needed to be more focused on winning this tournament,” Stratford senior Rachael Ackerman said. “Tattnall played a good game against us, but we needed to be more focused. We needed to be ready for state tournament basketball.” Ackerman and sophomore guard Virginia Hirschey each scored seven first-quarter points to give the Eaglettes a 22-10 lead after the first quarter. “You really have to come to play against them,” CFCA coach Todd Whetsel said. “When they are making shots from the outside they are tough. And they did that early.” Stratford kept up its pressure through three quarters leading by as many as 35 points and showed that it will be ready for the state tournament when it begins at Tattnall on Wednesday. Hirschey led all scorers with 15 points, while Ackerman and Mallory Long added 12 and 10 points, respectively. “We were happy to get a good jump start in the first quarter,” Hirschey said. “But we continued to play with intensity and focus for the whole game.” In the girls’ consolation game, Bailey Knight scored 26 points to lead No. 4 seed Tattnall to a 48-43 win over second-seeded Mount de Sales. The junior scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of free throws with four seconds left to give her 1,000 career points. “I have the chance to get that mark in the next game or next year,” Knight said. “The most important thing is that we won the game and didn’t finish fourth in the region.” The game had nine ties and 10 lead changes. In the boys consolation game, Tattnall (18-6) rebounded from its semifinal loss to Stratford with a 55-35 win over First Presbyterian Day. The Trojans lead by as many as 28 points and got a chance to rest many of their starters during the second half. Rick Spires made four 3-pointers for the second-straight night and scored a game-high 14 points. Contact Heeter at 744-4208 or jheeter@macontel.com [mailto:jheeter@macontel.com] GIRLS TATTNALL SQUARE 48, MOUNT DE SALES 43 MOUNT DE SALES (43): Beall 2, Westfall 1, Maggie O’Brien 14, K. O’Brien 3, Ni. Amporful 8, Jideka Nwosu 13, Hewitt 2. TATTNALL (48): Bailey Knight 26, Walker 8, Tribble 7, McMichael 4, Green 3. Halftime: Tattnall 20-19. 3-pointers: MdS (M. O’Brien 2, K. O’Brien, Nwosu); Tattnall (Tribble, Walker 2). Records: MdS 17-11; Tattnall 10-17. Next: MdS vs. Sherwood Christian/Deerfield-Windsor winner, Wed. at Tattnall; Tattnall vs. Sherwood Christian/Deerfield-Windsor loser, Wed. at Tattnall. STRATFORD 63, CFCA 31 CENTRAL FELLOWSHIP (31): H. Marrone 5, D. Marrone 4, Spencer 5, O’Gorman 5, Bedgood 6, Phillips 4, Everett 2. STRATFORD (63): Spillers 2, Rachael Ackerman 12, Davis 8, Mallory Long 10, Virginia Hirschey 15, Ekeledo 6, Manocheo 2, Stevens 2, Wilfong 2, Young 2. Halftime: Stratford 42-17. 3-pointers: CFCA (O’Gorman); Stratford (Ackerman 2, Hirschey). Records: CFCA 12-10; Stratford 26-0. Next: CFCA vs. Westfield/Southland winner, Wed. at Tattnall; Stratford vs. Westfield/Southland winner, Wed. at Tattnall. BOYS TATTNALL SQUARE 55, FPD 35 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN DAY (35): Fuller 2, Lee 6, Wheeler 7, Tatro 1, Faulk 2, Childs 2, Cope 2, Peake 4, Jones 6. TATTNALL (55): Rick Spires 14, Chad Whithead 10, Layson 8, Bradley 4, Garrison 2, Morgan 7, Ennis 4, Wilcher 2, Rojas 1, McCuen 3. Halftime: Tattnall 33-13. 3-pointers: FPD (Wheeler); Tattnall (Spires 4, McCuen). Records: FPD 9-18; Tattnall 18-6. Next: FPD vs. Deerfield-Windsor/Southland winner, Thur., 5:30 p.m. at Tattnall; Tattnall vs. Deerfield/Southland loser, Thur., 4 p.m. at Tattnall. MOUNT DE SALES 57, STRATFORD 44 STRATFORD (44): Russell Henley 16, Michael Lemon 13, Schorr 4, W. O’Shaunghnessey 6, Fulcher 5. MOUNT DE SALES (57): Justin Young 16, Hardison 5, Sheehan 6, Slonaker 5, Josh Miller 23, Conforti 2. Halftime: Mount de Sales 23-22. 3-pointers: Stratford (Henley 4, Fulcher); MdS (Miller 4, Young 3, Sheehan 2). Records: Stratford 16-8; MdS 20-7. Next: Stratford vs. Westfield/Sherwood winner, Thur., 7 p.m. at Tattnall; MdS vs. Westfield/Sherwood loser, Thur., 8:30 p.m. at Tattnall.

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