Charles Henderson falters late to WC
Published 12:00 am Sunday, February 9, 2003
GREENVILLE -The Charles Henderson Lady Trojans played close to Wilcox Central for three quarters, but could not score enough points at the end.
The Lady Trojans scored six points in the fourth quarter, far too few, as the Lady Jags advanced to the finals to face Greenville. Wilcox won 53-42.
"We were sick with whatever it was going around," Charles Henderson coach Dyneshia Jones said. "I was proud of the team. They fought hard, they just couldn't quite win it.
"They (Wilcox-Central) did a good job on us in the fourth quarter. They were able to get some points."
Senior Annie Daniels led the Traojsn with 25 points, but she only managed four in the final quarter. She only scored one field goal in the second half after hitting four in the first. She had 16 points at halftime and had hit three 3-pointers.
Part of the reason Daniels had trouble scoring in the second half may have been because of injuries. Sophomore guard Mary Gilbert did not play because of an ACL tear during the regular season.
"I think that had a lot to do with it," Jones said. "Annie still scored a lot, but at the end, Wilcox focused on her. If we had another shooter, they would have had to guard her."
Charles Henderson led 36-34 with 2:40 left in the third quarter, but Wilcox scored the final six points of the quarter to take a 40-36 lead. The Lady Trojans scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, but gave up the next eight points.
Wilcox forced several bad shots and turnovers and was able to get plenty of fastbreak opportunities.
"We don't like playing a zone," Wilcox coach John L. Abraham said. "We had to go to the zone in the first half because my players were getting into foul trouble. We went back to man-to-man in the fourth quarter."
Wilcox will play Greenville Monday night in the championship game. The Lady Tigers defeated Escambia County 62-30 in the second game.
Most of the Trojans will be back next season. Jones played many freshman and sophomores this season and even played some eighth graders in the tournament.
"We will be better next year. We played a lot of young girls," Jones said. "But I enjoyed my time with Annie Daniels. She was a good player and a hard worker; it was a pleasure to coach her."