Wood girls hang on to defeat Clarke in OT

January 10, 2011

By David Selig
The Winchester Star       

WINCHESTER- Some coaches might have warned Shannan Thorne to be careful when she re-entered Saturday's game with four fouls early in the fourth quarter.

But to tell Thorne not to be aggressive would be to take away what the James Wood senior forward does best.

So Colonels girls' basketball coach Rhonda Slider instead chose to say nothing.

Thorne went on to score 12 points, grab 10 rebounds, and make five steals in the fourth quarter and overtime alone, as Wood edged visiting Clarke County 65-61 in a non-district game.

"I didn't tell her anything," Slider said. "Shannan's the type of person that, I think she kind of knew. Me telling her not to foul, or to stay aggressive, she knew that already. She's a heads-up player. It was either up to her to stay in it or to go out swinging." Thorne finished with 23 points (on 8 of 11 shooting from the floor), 25 rebounds, eight steals and four blocks.

And despite picking up her fourth foul with 2:52 left in the third, she never fouled out.

"You just have to play smart," Thorne said of her mindset with four fouls. "Basic defense, moving your feet, keeping your hands up. You just have to be smart - especially in the fourth quarter."

Thorne's monster game came less than 24 hours after she scored 33 points and yanked down 28 rebounds in a 69-57 loss to Northwestern District rival Sherando.

The six-footer had 25 points and 17 rebounds when James Wood (6-5) beat Clarke County 54-43 on Dec. 18 in Berryville. But while the Eagles (4-7) still couldn't find an answer for Thorne in the rematch, they fared much better Saturday as their full-court pressure helped force 34 turnovers.

Clarke built a 10-point lead when Chelsea Nelson (11 points) hit a pair of free throws with 5:31 left in the third quarter, and the Eagles carried a seven-point advantage into the final period.

But when Thorne re-entered, the Colonels quickly got back into the game.

Her steal and score pulled Wood within two with 3:06 remaining. Thorne then blocked a shot and pulled down the rebound on Clarke's next trip, and Halley DeHaven's baseline jumper tied the score on the ensuing possession.

"We weren't really worried about the points on the board," Thorne said. "We just knew that if we got in there and did what we needed to do - if we boxed out, got rebounds, and put up shots - that we could come back at the end."

Thorne put back a miss by Katelyn Pennington to push the Colonels ahead 57-55 with 1:40 left.

Clarke's Kasey Canterbury (18 points and 15 rebounds) tied the score on a free throw with 15.4 seconds on the clock, and a shot by Wood guard Kelsey Seymour (15 points) missed in the final seconds to send the game to overtime.

DeHaven hit another clutch baseline jumper in the extra session, and Thorne converted a layup after breaking Clarke's press to put the Colonels ahead by three with 2:11 remaining.

Freshman Whitney Dick created the final margin by swishing two free throws with 21 seconds left, and Thorne added a final steal to clinch a much-needed win.

"I knew we were tired coming into the game," Slider said. "And we talked about how we just had to pull together and just find within us how we could get out of this slump that we seemed to be in.

"We decided that Shannan is our go-to [player], and we had to go to Shannan."

Clarke County was left trying to figure out how it let a winnable game slip away. The Eagles' free-throw shooting (18 of 30), fouls committed (Wood attempted 40 foul shots) and overtime shooting (0 for 6 from the floor) were among the reasons, but coach Tim Lawrence said he feels his team can take something from the defeat.

"I was really pleased with the kids' effort," Lawrence said. "[James Wood] had to earn everything they got tonight. I thought we did a much better job competing with them on the boards. I thought we played well overall. ...

"We just didn't make enough shots down the stretch, but we certainly had our chances. There are no moral victories, but I can walk off the floor today feeling like we can build on this more than some of our other games that we've had this year."

Logan Johnson chipped in 15 points for the Eagles.

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