2/3/2010
St. John's takes down Lincolnview, 47-22
Delphos senior Zefiryn Bryan scores 1,000th point in contest
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| Kirk Dougal/Times Bulletin
St. John’s Zefiryn Bryan (22) posts up against Lincolnview’s Kaitlyn Brant during a game on Tuesday, February 2, at Lincolnview. Bryan scored her 1,000th point during the game. |
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BY KIRK DOUGAL
Times Bulletin Editor
kdougal@timesbulletin.com
MIDDLE POINT - The game was the story of a state-ranked, veteran team with plenty of experience against a young team still learning when Delphos St. John's traveled to Lincolnview on Tuesday night and went away with a 47-22 win.
Although the outcome may have been what was expected on paper, the beginning of the game was quite different. The Lady Blue Jays came out looking sluggish and unfocused while the Lancers appeared ready to play. It was enough to make St. John's coach Dan Grothouse a little concerned out of the gate.
"We didn't execute and we didn't seem to have the energy," said Grothouse.
A fired up Lincolnview squad battled through the first and played well, although turnovers did not allow them to take as much advantage as they could have early on in the contest. Meanwhile, St. Johns shot only 31 percent from the field in the first quarter, leading to only a two-point lead, 8-6 at the end of one. Freshman point guard Katie Dye was part of the reason for Lincolnview's hanging close as she handled the defensive pressure well and scored four points.
The second quarter, however, showed the reason why St. John's is ranked fourth in Division IV in the state. The Jays extended their man-to-man defense on the perimeter, overplaying the passing lanes and causing turnovers out of the young Lancers. The upbeat defense also seemed to feed the Delphos offense as well.
"The guys coming in off the bench at the end of the first quarter and on into the second, they gave us a lot of energy on both ends of the floor," said Grothouse. "That's how we wanted to start out and somehow couldn't get up there. But when the guys came in off the bench, they stepped up, gave us more pressure defensively and we got more aggressive offensively, too, attacking the basket."
But as the game wore on, a noticeable buzz was building in the St. John's fan section. Delphos senior Zefiryn Bryan had scored four points in the first quarter and then four more in the second as the Jays took the 27-12 halftime lead. In the third, The Jays pounded the ball inside to sisters Lindsy and Shelby Reindel as well as Bryan. She was fouled three different times and made four of the ensuing free throws. But it was when she stepped outside and canned a two-point jump shot with her toes on the arc from the right wing that the fans let loose. Bryan had achieved 1,000 points for her high school career and, as a credit to her, she did not know the shot was for the 1,000 when she took it.
"I tried to go into the game not thinking about it," Bryan said. "If it happened, it happened and if it didn't, there was always the next game. I just try to do my job and don't try to do more than I can. I look for open teammates and do what the coach asks of me."
Coach Grothouse was very complimentary of Bryan, the 12th Lady Jay to go over the 1,000 point mark in the 36 years of girls basketball at the school.
"You look at Zefiryn, you wouldn't call her a flashy player," he said. "But she gets the job done. Very steady, very solid. She scores for us, does a nice job rebounding for us; she just does all the intangible things that makes us better. I'm just glad she's on our team."
The entire time the noise was raining down on the court and the Jays were pulling away, the scrappy Lincolnview squad continued to play hard. Lancer coach Dave Evans plays mostly sophomores and juniors with some freshmen and does not even have a senior on his roster. In the fourth quarter, the Lancers played even with the Jays as time ran out. And as Evans pointed out, most of the difference in the game came in the last part of the second quarter when Delphos went on a 18-4 run.
"I thought for about three and a half quarters, I was pleased with our effort," Evans said. "That last four minutes of the second quarter was a big difference in the game when they pounded the ball inside."
Perhaps most importantly with a team with its youth, Evans has been very pleased with his players' progress throughout the year.
"The last two weeks we've made great strides with where we were at. We are starting to show that we can play some basketball and if they continue to improve the rest of the season, the future is going to be good for them. Everyone of them is better. The freshmen are playing more now, the juniors are starting to show some leadership. It's just a matter of us taking care of the basketball."
Delphos improved on their shooting after the first period, going 17 of 42 from the field (40.4%), including two of eight from the three-point line. Lincolnview was seven of 27 (25.9%) and 0 for 6 from beyond the arc. Unofficially, the Jays won the battle of the boards, 28-17, and the turnover contest, 11-25.
The Delphos junior varsity also won, 37-16.
1 2 3 4 Totals
Delphos 8 19 14 6 47
L'view 6 6 5 5 22
Delphos - C. Grothouse 1-2-4, Saine 2-1-6, Desenberg 1-0-3, Minnig 0-0-0, Bryan 7-4-18, L. Reindel 2-3-7, S. Reindel 3-0-6, A. Grothouse 1-0-2, Geise 0-1-1 Totals 17-11-47
Lincolnview - Alvarez 1-4-6, C. Dye 0-0-0, Tunis 1-0-2, Thatcher 1-0-2, Osbourne 2-2-6, Bowen 0-0-0, K. Dye 2-2-6, Springer 0-0-0, Brant 0-0-0 Totals 7-8-22
3 Pts. - Delphos (2) - Saine, Desenberg; Lincolnview (0)
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