Bethel-Tate's Haylee Foster drives toward the hoop in the Lady Tigers' win over Williamsburg.

Bethel-Tate's Allison Parks drives toward the hoop in the Lady Tigers' win over Williamsburg.

By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor

Two girls’ basketball teams entered play on Thursday, Jan. 12 with matching 4-0 records in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference’s National Division, but only one would keep their perfect mark.

Williamsburg hosted Bethel-Tate in a conference clash on Jan. 12 and, despite jumping ahead 11-1 early in the first quarter, the Lady Wildcats found themselves on the wrong end of a 43-39 final score.

Williamsburg’s Alexis Chase scored 10 of the team’s first 11 points, the last of which came with 1:49 remaining in the period, sparking a timeout by Bethel-Tate head coach Dave Fallis.

“We called a timeout, which we hate to do early,” Fallis said. “We always try to get the other team to call timeout. We just said ‘Look, we haven’t made a shot. They’re making everything. We’re a little rusty on our zone.’ We just reinforced what we were trying to do defensively and what we need to run offensively.”

Part of the Lady Tigers’ problem early in the game was an inability to hold on to the ball, according to Fallis.

“We started the game with four straight turnovers,” he said. “We got that out of our system. We banded together, we had to be good teammates, play together as a team and fight back one possession at a time. That’s what we did.”

Coming out of the timeout, the Lady Tigers scored five quick points, highlighted by a three-pointer from sophomore Reagan Leonard. Chase connected on another jumper just before the end of the period, giving Williamsburg a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Williamsburg head coach Mike Madsen said the Lady Wildcats’ offense was at its best when the team used motion, and once the Lady Tigers tightened up their defense, things got more difficult for Williamsburg.

“We moved well without the ball,” Madsen said. “Then we stopped moving. Quite frankly, they just played better defense. They left too many gaps in their zone, and he called a time out and settled his team down. [Coach Fallis] did a heck of a job getting the girls back in the zone and they hit shots. We kept telling our girls that they want to score at the three-point line and we gave up wide-open threes. There are a couple of reasons for it, but quite frankly they out-played us.”

Bethel-Tate started the second quarter on a 9-1 run that gave the Lady Tigers a one-point lead with 4:30 left in the period. Williamsburg answered with back-to-back three pointers, one by Peyton Fisher and the other from Jessica Chase to pull ahead by five.

Alexis Chase managed just one point in the second quarter due in part to foul trouble keeping her on the bench but also partly because of the adjustments made by Bethel-Tate defensively.

“[Alexis Chase] had quite a few points because we kept trying to get her the ball in that location,” Madsen said. “We wanted her to shoot the ball. They adjusted. They lowered their zone a bit to shut that off.”

The Lady Tigers again started strong in the third quarter, jumping ahead 23-22. Williamsburg answered to re-take the lead at 27-26, only to see Bethel-Tate’s Allison Parks connect on a three-pointer to put the Lady Tigers back on top.

After Alexis Chase hit a pair of free-throws, Haylee Foster scored a pair for the Lady Wildcats to regain the lead.

The Lady Tigers extended the lead early in the fourth quarter, with Foster connecting on a three-pointer to give Bethel-Tate a 34-28 lead. Williamsburg scored just five points in the first 6:22 of the fourth quarter, all from the free-throw line. The Lady Wildcats went from the 6:07 mark of the third period to the 1:17 mark of the fourth without a field goal before Jessica Chase connected on a three-pointer to cut the Lady Tigers’ lead to 42-39. That basket was the final field goal by either team, as Parks hit a free-throw to put the Lady Tigers ahead by four with 10.7 seconds left.

Fallis said the lengthy streak without a field goal was due to the execution of his defense, adding he knew going into the game keeping the Lady Wildcats off the scoreboard would be key.

“We were a little at-risk because we were playing a zone, but we were active enough to where we could close out shots,” Fallis said. “They executed defensively today. Thirty-nine points for Williamsburg might be their lowest all year, they’re a high-powered offense and we knew that going in. We knew we had to control it, keep them in the 40s or the 50s. We got them in the 30s, and that equaled a win tonight.”

Madsen said the team’s schedule has been difficult on paper this season, yet the team is still performing extremely well despite the tough competition.

“It’s disappointing for the girls, but they’re still a 9-3 team,” he said. “We got beat by a team that’s ranked higher than us. We’ve had a tough first half, we’ve got beat by the number one, the number two and the number five ranked team in 11 games. Reading is number nine. When you play four of your 11 games against top-ranked opponents, and go down to the wire against three of them, you can’t ask for anything more.”

Madsen also noted the atmosphere against the Lady Tigers, noting the size of the crowd and the enthusiasm from the fans was at a level he hadn’t seen in Williamsburg in a while.

“This was a crowd that probably was one of the biggest girls’ varsity basketball game crowds we’ve had here in 15 or 16 years,” Madsen said. “I’ve never seen a crowd that big. The athletic director told me that was the best crowd. The fans were phenomenal. Good sportsmanship on both sides of the ball. The band was great. I was happy with the fans and the things that we had, we just came up short. Next time, we won’t.”

Fallis said the Lady Tigers prepare for tough games like this throughout the summer.

“We tell the girls that games like this are why we practice all summer long: a meaningful league game against a respectable opponent,” he said. “There was a big crowd tonight, that’s why we do this. It was a great game on both sides, anyone could have won it. Our kids had heart, they executed and finished.”

Bethel-Tate returned to the court two days later for a non-conference road matchup against Seton. The Lady Tigers won the game 40-36. They then faced Blanchester on Monday, Jan. 19. Bethel-Tate won that matchup as well, defeating the Lady Wildcats 51-31 to remain undefeated in league play.

Williamsburg battled the New Richmond Lady Lions on Jan. 19 in a non-league contest. The Lady Wildcats got 14 points from Alexis Chase and 11 from Jessica Chase en route to a 46-25 win over the Lady Lions.

Williamsburg returns to the court for a home contest against Clermont Northeastern on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Bethel-Tate visits Georgetown for the final game in a six-game road swing that began in late December against Gamble Montessori. The Lady Tigers will tip off against the Lady G-Men at 7:30 p.m.