The Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers pose with thier piece of the district tournament net and the accompanying trophy on Feb. 27 following a 44-39 win over Miami East in the Division III district finals.

The Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers pose with thier piece of the district tournament net and the accompanying trophy on Feb. 27 following a 44-39 win over Miami East in the Division III district finals.
By Chris Chaney
Sports Editor

Forget simply updating the banners. Bethel-Tate is going to have to commission new ones to be made with the roll that the Lady Tigers currently find themselves on.

After claiming the program’s first sectional title on Saturday, Feb. 20, the Lady Tigers did one better a week later, topping Miami East, 44-39, to win the district championship.

“(A district championship banner) will be new,” head coach Dave Fallis said. “We’ll be updating our girls basketball banner with a sectional championship and now a district championship. And we hope we’re not done yet.”

Fallis has good reason to be bullish about a third update to the gymnasium banner after his team has rattled off seven straight victories in the immediate aftermath of the Southern Buckeye Conference title slipping through their hands.

“They’re not fearful of anything right now. They’re playing with a lot of energy, they’re playing for each other and they’re playing with a purpose,” Fallis said. “We lost at least a share of the conference championship by one possession and we’ve gathered ourselves since then and we haven’t lost, mainly because we’re playing fantastic defense.

“In the four games in the tournament, we’re giving up less than 40 points per game. I told the girls that if we play that kind of defense, you’re going to find yourself competitive in just about any game and that’s been the case.”

That defensive intensity was on display in the district final when the Lady Tigers gave up just 14 points in the first half to jump out to a 15-point halftime lead.

Fallis called the first two quarters the best his team had played all year, but warned them at the break that Miami East would not go down without a fight.

“We talked about it at length at halftime,” Fallis said. “It was probably the best half of basketball that we had played, but it was done and over. We were in a good spot, but we had to understand the game and clock situation and understand that (Miami East) were going to come back.

“They outrebounded us in the second half, but we were tough. We told the girls before the game that whatever happens — good or bad — do one thing: just keep playing.

“And we did. We didn’t lose focus or get down because things didn’t go our way. We made free throws towards the end, which is what it came down to.”

Bethel was led in the scoring column by the newly-minted Division III District 16 Player of the Year, senior Julia Jenike. The Florida Atlantic University commit scored a game-high 25 points, including 14 in the first half. Junior Haylee Foster had 12 and sophomore Allison Parks added seven points.

The Lady Tigers moved their attention to Marion Pleasant, their regional semifinal opponents, at the start of the week and have formulated a game plan to best ensure that their run to state can continue on to this weekend.

“(Marion Pleasant) is a very talented team. In the final AP poll, they were ranked No. 10 in the state in Division III,” Fallis said. “They’re tall and they’re long. They have two girls who are 6’2”. (They’re) very skilled girls.

“We’re going to have to keep the rebounding margin close. They like to get out into transition and that’s one of the things we’re going to have to try to take away or, at least, control. They attack the rim really well, so we’ll have to take that away.”

The regional semifinal will be played at Springfield High School, northeast of Dayton at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2.

Similar to the send off the boys football team received in the fall, the Lady Tigers will walk the halls of the various schools in the district before taking a charter bus with police escorts out of town.

In the Sweet 16 of the Division III state tournament, Fallis told his team to drink in the moments that lead up to Wednesday evening’s game and take as many pictures and videos on their phones as they can. However, when tip time rolls around, Fallis said he expects his team to play Bethel-Tate basketball.

“We’re going to stay true to what’s gotten us this far; keep playing the way we play and make some adjustments for their offense,” the coach said. “We’re very hopeful at this point.”