Jacksonville Progress
January 12, 2009 08:36 am
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By Jay Neal
sports@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Jacksonville head coach Jason Crow remarked just prior to Friday night’s game how senior-guard Mykeshia Burrell had stepped up as of late to become more of a threat as a shooter.
After guiding the Maidens to a 36-29 overtime win over Lindale in a District 14-4A battle at Jacksonville Gymnasium, Burrell’s stock probably went up a few more points on Crow’s chart.
The Lady Eagles (10-11, 1-1 in district) took the lead for the first time in the game with 1:27 to play in regulation as Brittannee Harlason drained a short-range shot off the window to put Lindale in front 23-21.
That’s when Burrell began to take her game to a higher level.
After going 0-for-3 from beyond-the-arc in the third quarter, Burrell canned a trey off the right wing with 1:07 to go in regulation that shifted the advantage back to the Maidens, 24-23, in the defense-dominated affair.
Dayre Marsh of Lindale missed a 12-footer on the Lady Eagles’ next trip down the floor, with Burrell shagging the defensive rebound with 26 ticks left in regulation.
Jacksonville was unsuccessful in generating anything offensively on their ensuing possession with Lindale gaining control of the ball.
Meagan Hardy then penetrated the Maiden interior to can a short-range shot off the glass with four seconds showing on the clock to tie the game at 25, necessitating a bonus segment.
Jacksonville scored the all-important first bucket of overtime as Amber Whitmill fired a bullet to Amber Hawkins down low and Hawkins made good on the shot to put the Maidens up 27-25 with 3:34 left in overtime.
Following the first of three-consecutive Lady Eagle turnovers in transition, Burrell gave Jacksonville the breathing room it needed by swishing a three-ball off the right side at the 2:46 point of the extended session, putting the Maidens ahead 30-25.
Hawkins’ and Burrell’s baskets were part of an 8-0 spurt the Maidens peeled off to open the bonus period as the Tribe gals found themselves in front 33-25 with just over two minutes to play in overtime.
From that point the game turned into a free throw shooting display with Lindale unable to gain any ground on the Maidens in the late going as Jacksonvile outscored the Lady Eagles 11-4 in the extended segment.
Defense, a staple of Maiden success this season, ruled the game from the first jump as Jacksonville led 9-2 after one period of play and 13-6 at intermission.
Each unit scored just four points in the third quarter before the Lady Eagles came alive in the fourth to out-point Jacksonville 15-8.
The Maidens continued their streak of being undefeated in games where they have held their opponents to under 47 points.
Burrell led Jacksonville in scoring with 10 points while Hawkins put in seven.
Hardy paced the Lady Eagle offense with 10 points.
Crow was perplexed after the game, acknowledging there were elements of his team’s play that were displeasing to him, but the bottom line was still, “a win is a win.”
“Their (Lindale’s) press caused us difficulty and we were scatterbrained at times out there,” he said. “We struggled tonight, but we managed to keep the ship afloat.
“We had plenty of open looks on offense and we just were not able to knock the shots down. We made just enough shots late to get the lead and then hang on.”
The Maidens continue with league play at 6 p.m. Tuesday when they host Whitehouse (17-5, 2-0) in the opening game of a district doubleheader, with the Indians and Wildcats slated to tipoff immediately following the girls contest.
NOTES: Jacksonville lost 63-29 to Whitehouse in the Hudson Tournament in early December in a contest that did not count towards the district standings...the Lady Eagles lost the services of their leading scorer, Brooke Eldridge, who had to leave the game due to what appeared to be an ankle injury early in the first quarter...Lindale came out on top in the junior varsity game between the two schools, winning 33-10.
Jacksonville 36, Lindale 29
Lindale (10-11,1-1) 2 4 4 15 4 -29
J’ville (15-10, 2-0) 9 4 4 8 11 -36
Lindale — Meagan Hardy, 10, Kaitlyn White, 4, Dayre Marsh, 2, Jenna Terry, 2, Kelci Lind, 6, Brittannee Harlason, 5.
J’ville — Amber Hawkins, 7, Mykeshia Burrell, 10, Tanika Lucas-Clay, 2, Jessica Hunter, 6, Sharae Sanders, 2, Amber Whitmill, 3, Brittany King, 6.
Three point shots — (L) Meagan Hardy; (J) Mykeshia Burrell (3).
Next game — Lindale at Kilgore,Tuesday, 6 p.m.; Jacksonville vs. Whitehouse, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
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