Rams should have plenty to reload with after losing in sectional
It is one of the toughest ways to end a season.
When the off-balanced, baseline jumper from Miller Career Academy sophomore forward Shanity Jones fell through the bottom of the net at the buzzer of a Class 4 sectional game last Wednesday at Parkway West, the MICDS girls basketball team took a collective kick in the stomach. It was the last shot in a 45-43 Phoenix victory.
Rams coach Scott Small felt his team defended the final play about as well as it could.
“We were playing a 3-2 matchup all game and then we went man. We forced her to do what we wanted to, take an off-balanced, over-the-shoulder shot, and she did a phenomenal job,” he said.
Jones’ bucket was the final dagger in a 15-6 Miller Career run over the final five minutes of the game.
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The Rams’ season came to a close at 19-7.
It was a historical jaunt for MICDS as it won its first-ever girls district championship.
The team will lose just two starters to graduation. Seniors Rebecca Gollub and Jasmine Randle were forces in the post, combining for more than 15 points and 16 rebounds a night.
“It’s a phenomenal group of seniors that we’re losing,” Small said.
The Rams were young but talented in the backcourt.
Freshman Cameron Jackson stepped in at point guard this season and did a tremendous job running the show. The 5-foot-7 Jackson’s versatility was a big reason why the Rams excelled.
“We thought we would be young and inexperienced, but Cameron did a remarkable job with the pressure up top and I think it kind of spurred everybody along,” Small said.
The team’s catalyst was junior Delaney Hobbs. Hobbs set herself apart from most in the area with an impressive clip. She averaged over 17 points a game, and, at 5-11, is a deadly 3-point shooter.
“They go through Hobbs for everything,” Miller Career coach Darrin White said. “She is unbelievable. I tried giving her my best defender and she worked her out.”
Sophomore starting guard Campbell Torchin was a spark from the foul line in the sectional showdown. She made 9-of-10 in the game. As a team, the Rams were 26-of-33 from the charity stripe.
“We felt that if we could get that contact call consistently at the top that we would get to the free throw line. We did and they did a great job of making them,” Small said. “We’ve struggled at times hitting free throws but tonight we stuck them and kept ourselves in the ballgame.”
Junior Lauren Waterbury gave the Rams more options at guard with her athletic ability on a 5-7 frame.
The Rams really turned things around at the start of 2010, when, after Jan. 5, they won 14 of 15 games.
With at least nine underclassmen returning, Small is eager to get started once again.
“We told our kids that once we got here, it would give us the experience to continue to do it,” he said. “There are a lot of sad faces but we know what this experience will mean in the long run. It bodes well for our future.”
