|
|
With
nothing to ever be ashamed of, the Tri-Village Lady
Patriots proudly hold the regional
runner-up trophy Saturday after
falling to Ft. Loramie in the D-IV regionals finals. CNO
photo by Dylan Knoop
|
|
Lady Patriots end season on down note
Boys resume tonight
By George Starks
TIPP CITY- When Tri-Village’s Kayla Linkous graduated a year ago; many
thought the Lady Patriots had little to know chance of getting back to
state to finish what was started a year ago.
As for me, I was one of the few that thought they could.
Granted, losing Kayla meant losing a big chunk of offense as well as a
presence on the glass.
What it meant was Teha Richards, Shaye Thomas, Lexi Bruner, Krystal
Falknor and Echo Brown was going to need to pick up the pace if the
Patriots were going to make it.
It also meant Liz Collins, Heather Ferris and Reah Mikesell would have
big rolls to play coming off the bench.
Despite dressing only eight players, head coach Brad Grey had a near
perfect combination on the floor at all times.
Eight girls that seemingly got along well on the court and never cared
about who scored as long as the wins came for them.
Richards, Thomas and Falknor was a triple threat the second the ball
was in play and few teams had the answer on how to shut them down.
On many occasions, the thought was to put Thomas on the bench with foul
problems.
That was never the answer as Richards and Falknor would pick up the
slack.
Enter Brown who could light it up as well as Bruner in the post and the
Patriots were lethal.
When help was needed, Collins could bring on the defense and create
havoc not to mention, score a point or two and claim some much needed
rebounds.
Mikesell and Ferris were no cupcakes either as the tandem brought a
spark off the bench for Grey at a moment’s notice.
When graduation comes, Grey will lose Richards, Thomas and Collins and
now the question comes, can the Lady Patriots make another run in 2014?
With what looks to be a starting five of Brown, Mikesell, Bruner,
Falknor and Ferris, Tri-Village may suffer at the point a little but
once again will be solid.
I’m not so sure the girls will make it five straight times to the
regional finals but if Grey can weave his magic wand and create a team
that can pull it off, he can.
Bottom line: Only time will tell.
Tonight, the Tri-Village boys will hit the court in Kettering in
regional semi-final action against Troy Christian. Game time is set for
8 pm, following the Delphos St. John’s vs. Jackson Center game at 5:30.
Wednesday, the Versailles Tigers will play Worthington Christian
starting at 5:30. If successful, the Tigers will meet the winner of the
#1 Cincinnati Summit Country Day vs. #7 St. Bernard Roger Bacon game.
The D-IV Regional Final will be played at Kettering Fairmont HS (Trent
Arena), Friday, March 15, 7:30 p.m.
The D-III Regional final will be played at Kettering Fairmont HS (Trent
Arena), Saturday, March 16, 7:00 p.m.
|
|
|
|
