Victoria West's Shanequa Barfield goes up for a shot against a block from CC Tuloso-Midway's Taylor Reeves during Friday night's play-off game at A.C. Jones High School in Beeville. The Lady Warriors defeated the Lady Cherokees 58-56.
Franklin helps Warriors to 58-56 win over Tuloso-Midway
Originally published February 18, 2011 at 9:42 p.m., updated February 18, 2011 at 11:20 p.m.
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Photos: ANGELI WRIGHT/AWRIGHT@VICAD.COM
Victoria West's Shanequa Barfield celebrates with teammates, family and fans on the court after West defeated Tuloso-Midway 58-56 in Friday night's playoff game at A.C. Jones High School in Beeville.
ANGELI WRIGHT/AWRIGHT@VICAD.COM
Victoria West's Treka Franklin goes up for a lay-up against a block from CC Tuloso-Midway's Keeley Coburn during the fourth quarter of Friday night's play-off game at A.C. Jones High School in Beeville. The Lady Warriors defeated the Lady Cherokees 58-56.
ANGELI WRIGHT/AWRIGHT@VICAD.COM
Victoria West fan Frances Ortiz shows her Warrior pride as she cheers for a made basket during Friday night's play-off game against CC Tuloso-Midway at A.C. Jones High School in Beeville. The Lady Warriors defeated the Lady Cherokees 58-56.
Victoria West's Treka Franklin goes up for a shot against a block from by Tuloso-Midway's Victoria Galaviz.
SCOREVictoria West 58, C.C. Tuloso Midway 56
BEEVILLE - Sandra Jimenez kept repeating it to herself. Over and over again. If she said it enough, it was bound to happen.
"Coach (Debbie) Brownson and I just kept saying 'We gotta believe, we gotta believe, we gotta believe,'" said the coach for Victoria West. "And things just happened. I don't know, we've been in this type of game with T-M every time we meet them.
"We just had to believe that third game was a charm."
Two previous times Victoria West had met Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway, it ended in heartbreak.
The Cherokees (25-11) had beaten Victoria West by two points in early December at the Rockport tournament, and again at home by one point later that month. This was the third, and most important meeting.
With 25 seconds left, a tie game and the Cherokee's Korey Coburn at the line, it looked like Victoria West was heading to another late loss. This time, a loss would end the season.
The Warriors needed someone to step up and Treka Franklin was up to the task.
Victoria West (26-9) used a double-double from the sophomore guard that included a game-high 23 points, including two crucial free throws, to give the Warriors the lead, and a block with six seconds left off the Cherokees' Nati Vega to seal a 58-56 area-round playoff victory.
Franklin also added 11 rebounds.
After two losses, a change in game plan was part of the strategy. Franklin said a big part of the Warriors' success were the changes to the game plan, including changing positions with senior guard Eboni Murphy on offense.
"They didn't know what we were going to do, we had a whole new game plan," Franklin said. "We just worked real hard, they'd beaten us the last two times. But we came out a completely different team and did what we had to do."
The changes got Murphy involved in rebounding more, and also got her involved in the offense more. Murphy finished with 14 points, second for the Warriors.
"We'd lost to them two times before, and we wanted it too bad to lose it again," Murphy said. "We couldn't let it happen, not when it really mattered like this."
The Warriors' determination showed late in the game, as the seconds ticked away and Tuloso-Midway, down nine at one point in the fourth, had roared back to tie the game with a chance to take the lead.
But the missed free throw gave Victoria West new life, and a foul in the paint put Franklin at the line. From there, she said it came down to a matter of focus.
"We've been working on pressure free throws all the time," Franklin said. "I knew I just had to relax, and take the best shot, follow my ritual and hit them."
And at the other end, Franklin said she was just trying to use her height to her advantage, and most of all, not to foul and put one of the Cherokees' better free-throw shooters at the line.
"Most of the time I go for blocks, they call fouls," she said. "I just waited until the ball got into the air, and I just tried to throw it down, grab it and go."
Jimenez said Franklin's contributions were important to the Warriors at first keeping it close before taking over the game in the third quarter.
"I think Treka played the game of the season," she said. "Had it not for been for her play, it would have been a much different game.
The Warriors had trouble finding momentum early in the game. Tuloso-Midway jumped out to a six-point first quarter lead as the Warriors struggled to find a groove shooting.
But that changed in the third quarter.
Shanequa Barfield and Kaylee Krawietz stepped up while filling in for Emily Skipper and Tiffanie Wyatt, who were off the court because of foul trouble. They played strong defense and helped the Warriors outscore Tuloso-Midway 17-9 in the third quarter to take the lead.
"It was a team effort," Jimenez said. "Everybody had to come in because we had some kids in foul trouble. They even gave us a lead while they were in."
NOTES: The Warriors will play the winner of Hidalgo and Gregory-Portland in the regional quarterfinal on Tuesday, potentially setting up another matchup of two teams that are very familiar with one another. Victoria West and G-P played twice during District 30-4A play, with the Warriors winning both.
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