Published: March 07, 2008 12:20 am         

Woodrow surprises Huskies

CHARLESTON — North Marion came prepared to stop Camisha Alexander at the 3-point line.

Alexander, however, had a few surprises for the Huskies.

The Woodrow Wilson senior drove the lane with authority, whether making lay-ups or dishing to teammates for assists, as the Flying Eagles pulled a 56-50 upset Thursday night in the Class AAA quarterfinals of the state basketball tournament.

Alexander made just two 3-pointers, but scored a game-high 20 points and made eight assists for No. 6 Woodrow (16-9).

“Coach (Bernie Bostick) told me they’d take (the 3-point shot) away and to drive the gaps,” Alexander said. “Good things would happen.”

Bostick was on the money. Alexander took the ball in five times in the decisive fourth quarter, scoring twice and sinking 4 of 5 free throws after getting fouled.

She gave Woodrow the lead for keeps, 51-49, by hitting two foul shots with 42.3 seconds left to play.

The Flying Eagles added five more foul shots, two by Charlene Diggs, one by Haley Snyder and two more from Alexander, to ice the game.

In all, Woodrow was 13 for 16 (81.3 percent) at the charity stripe.

“We don’t shoot (fouls) as well as we did tonight,” Bostick said. “We average 60 to 65 percent. Maybe.”

No. 3 North Marion (23-2) jumped out to a 13-7 first-quarter lead, but slowly began to crack under Woodrow’s full-court pressure defense.

Reserve forward Shakela Tunstalle opened the scoring in the second quarter with a three. Alexander, held scoreless in the opening quarter, then followed suit.

She added two more 2-point goals as the Flying Eagles went ahead 22-18 at halftime.

Another of Alexander’s threes ignited a 9-1 run to open the third quarter.

“One of our keys was to keep someone on 14 (Alexander) and 20 (Snyder),” North Marion coach Michael Parrish said. “We left them open four times and Alexander made two and Snyder made two.”

Junior forward Erica Staples, better known for defense than for her scoring, hit five shots and scored 10 points for the Flying Eagles.

“They were keying on our leading scorers and I was left open a lot, so I was trying to step up,” she said.

North Marion went on a 10-0 run to conclude the third quarter and tied the game at 47 and 49 in the final two minutes.

Alexander answered both times with a lay-up and two foul shots, and Woodrow got a key steal from Diggs and two big rebounds by Snyder and Ashley Chipps to preserve the win.

Chipps finished with 19 boards as the Flying Eagles outrebounded North Marion 41-27. She took just six shots, however, making two, and also added a couple of free throws.

“I didn’t feel I was as open as I needed to score, so I was trying to pop it out to someone I knew could score,” she said.

Mariah Byard and Kelsi Wright scored 14 points apiece for North Marion.

“We had opportunities, but we missed some easy shots and had some turnovers,” Parrish said. “When we made a mistake, (Woodrow) made us pay for it.”

The Flying Eagles will take on No. 2 Parkersburg South at 9 p.m. today.

— E-mail:

dstillwell@register-herald.com



WOODROW WILSON (16-9)

Staples 5-10 0-0 10, Alexander 6-15 6-7 20, Snyder 3-6 1-3 9, Diggs 2-6 4-4 8, Chipps 2-5 2-2 6, Tunstalle 1-2 0-0 3, Lillard 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 13-16 56.

NORTH MARION (23-2)

Wright 5-13 2-2 14, Nicholson 2-8 2-3 7, Parsons 2-7 1-3 5, Byard 5-12 2-3 14, Antolock 4-11 0-0 8, Hall 1-3 0-0 2, Moran 0-1 0-0 0, Swiger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 7-11 50.

WW 7 15 13 21 — 56

NM 13 5 14 18 — 50

3-Point Goals—Woodrow Wilson 5-10 (Alexander 2-6, Snyder 2-2, Tunstalle 1-2), North Marion 5-17 (Wright 2-6, Nicholson 1-3, Byard 2-7, Moran 0-1). Fouled out—Wright. Rebounds—Woodrow Wilson 41 (Chipps 19), North Marion 27 (Parsons, Antolock 8). Assists—Woodrow Wilson 12 (Alexander 8), North Marion 14 (Parsons 7). Total fouls—Woodrow Wilson 15, North Marion 20.