East girls drop G-P again, head to regional semis
Originally published February 21, 2012 at 11:30 p.m., updated February 22, 2012 at 6:30 a.m.
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CommentNEXT GAME: Friday at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio vs. S.A. Brennan (36-0), 6 p.m.
SINTON - Victoria East's Danielle Franklin was a case of addition by subtraction.
Franklin scored only seven points, but more than made up for it with her defense in leading the Titans to a 74-46 Class 4A regional quarterfinal win over Gregory-Portland on Tuesday night at the Sinton gym.
East improved to 38-2 with its third straight win over the Ladycats (24-14), a District 30-4A opponent.
The Titans advanced to the regional tournament for the second straight season. East will play the San Antonio Brennan, a 40-31 winner over Austin Vandergrift on Tuesday night, in a semifinal game on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Blossom Center in San Antonio.
Franklin wasn't on with her shot, but she was all around Gregory-Portland's Whitney West.
West came into the game averaging in double figures, but managed just one 3-pointer before fouling out with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter.
"I was trying to hold her down," Franklin said. "When she got the ball, I stayed on her. When she gave up the ball, I tried not to let her have the ball back."
The Titans' defensive play made up from a uneven offensive performance and a poor shooting night from the free throw line.
"We talked about our defensive intensity," said East coach Yulonda Wimbish-North. "We knew Sarah Wisor was very difficult to guard. She was able to score (19 points), but we held the others down. I was pleased with the girls because they followed the game plan."
Gregory-Portland started strong, taking a 10-8 lead before the Titans scored the last seven points of the first quarter.
East could have had a bigger lead, but converted only 5 of 11 times from the free throw line and also had a lane violation in the first quarter.
The Titans went to the free throw line 45 times, but made only 21, which did not please Wimbish-North.
"I guess we're going to have to practice pressure free throws," she said. "In a close game, that could be the difference."
East made certain the game wouldn't be close by starting the second quarter with a 9-0 run and extending its lead to 36-16 by halftime.
"We were ready for this game," Franklin said. "We played them twice before so we knew it wasn't going to be easy."
Adelaide Wenzel scored 22 points, Kenya Griffin had 12 and Sonya Acuna had 11 for the Titans.
No player other than Wisor scored more than seven points for Gregory-Portland.
"Once again our defense did the job," Wimbish-North said. "I thought our offense was kind of stagnant. But any win at this time is a good win."
Comments
BeastSide says...
Well said, Coach! Any win is a good win now. That said, G-P did get that little spanking I told you guys about last week!
Brennan will be tough, but the fact our district still had three teams in the playoffs last night speaks volumes about our level of competition. I like our chances!!
Go Titans!!
February 22, 2012 at 9:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RedRage00 says...
Now the tough games begin. Good luck Lady Titans! We have one of Jan Lahodny's (spelling?) own coaching the girls. They'll be okay :)
February 22, 2012 at 9:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BeastSide says...
Spelling is correct. Yulonda has developed nicely this year, too! She doesn't have a player like she was to turn to, but nobody else does either!!
Titans will take Brennan due to quickness and depth...fun to watch. Come on over to SA, catch the game at 6:00 and you can still be on the Riverwalk by 9:00 for a fun Friday party!!
February 22, 2012 at 2:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
VictoriaNative says...
It will be great to see the Lady Titans give Brennan their first loss of the year. East and Floresville could meet for the third time this year in the regional final if they both win their upcoming games. (Floresville plays Vista Ridge)
February 22, 2012 at 3:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )