The Observer, December 2, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12
Late three pointer sinks Lady Spartans' rally
There must be something in the water at Horsburgh Gymnasium. Not much else can explain the many exciting, nail-biting finishes that have transpired at the gym early in this year's basketball season.
The women's basketball team played their first game of the nail-biting variety on Tuesday night, and they fell just short, losing to Baldwin Wallace, 61-58. It was the first loss of the season for the Spartans, dropping their record to 3-1. Baldwin Wallace improved to 4-0 with the victory. Junior guard Dana Dempsey led all scorers with 15 points, and sophomore forward Ashley Horton added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Spartans started the game with a flourish, taking an early 6-2 lead, before eventually relinquishing the lead after a three pointer from BW's Nikki Altenweg. The Spartans re-gained the lead to start the second half after a three-pointer by Dempsey, but that would be the last time Case would have the lead.
Following that three-pointer by Dempsey, the Baldwin Wallace team outscored Case 22-10 over the next eight minutes. Turnovers plagued the Spartans during this stretch, committing seven in that time span, and the Spartans struggled to sustain any type of offensive flow.
Head coach Jacki Windon knew going into the game that the momentum would shift at different points in the game.
"We said going in that it would be a game of runs," Windon said. "We tried to limit theirs and take advantage of ours."
The Spartans also came out of the locker room sluggish, and this ultimately contributed to the erratic play early in the half.
"In the first half, we played a little timid, and that carried over to start the second half," Dempsey said. "Later in the game, we started playing better, and knew we could beat them, but it was too late."
"If we had played all 40 minutes like we played late in the second half, we would have won the game," Horton added.
With 11 minutes remaining in the game, it appeared as though the Yellowjackets would walk away with an easy victory. However, the Spartans proved to be resilient, cutting the deficit down to one point with two and a half minutes to play. But a critical three pointer by Baldwin Wallace's Steffani Jaworski increased the lead back to four points, and Case could not recover. LaVonne Sherald's three point attempt missed as time expired, and Baldwin Wallace escaped with the victory.
Despite the loss, the Spartans played a competitive game and nearly defeated a team ranked in the top 20 of Division III. The game showed that the ladies are not too far away from joining Baldwin Wallace among the elite teams in the nation.
As for Baldwin Wallace, the Yellow-jackets proved that they deserve that high ranking.
"They are a very well-coached and prepared team," Windon said. "We felt we still could have won, but we allowed them to make too many plays and get too many offensive rebounds."
The Lady Spartans will next be in action at Grove City College today, and at West-minster College on tomorrow. The team's next home game is scheduled for Wednesday against Kenyon College.
