Kokomo survives a tough test

By DAVE KITCHELL
Tribune sports editor

February 09, 2008 12:40 am

— LOGANSPORT — Coaches will tell you that tournament basketball is all about survival and advancement.
Perhaps this morning, fans of Kokomo High School’s girls basketball team need reminded of that.
Here at the Berry Bowl Friday night in the semifinals of the Class 4A Logansport Sectional, the Lady Wildkats (16-5) did what they had to do. They prevailed in a game that was certainly no beauty contest.
Despite shooting their second lowest percentage of the season (32 percent) and putting McCutcheon at the free throw line 25 times, Kokomo held on for a 50-39 victory that was considerably closer than that.
It puts the Kats against the host Berries, 65-62 winners over Lafayette Jeff in the opener, in tonight’s championship. The contest tips off and 7:30 and it should be a dandy. Kokomo won the regular season matchup in overtime.
“This wasn’t the best game we’ve played,” said Wildkat coach Jason Snyder. “We’re capable of playing much better and we’ll have to [tonight] against a very good Logansport team.”
Kokomo led much of the game but could never seem to put the Mavs away. Kokomo led 38-29 with 2:30 remaining before McCutcheon turned up an already wild, scrambling defense, yet another notch. The Mavs forced three turnovers and very nearly turned the tide.
“That’s something we just have to do a better job of,” Snyder said. “[McCutcheon was in a season-ending situation where they were either going to foul or get a steal. We have to make sure we’re in the proper formation and get stronger with the ball.”
The first of those steals came at 1:25 left when the Mavs’ Allie McGraw stole an inbounds pass and scored a layup, trimming the lead to 41-36. The Kats then turned the ball over on an offense foul and the Mavs hit one of two free throws to slice the deficit to 41-37.
McGraw stole the ball yet again under the Mavs’ basket, but when they missed a shot inside at the 1:05 mark that could have cut the lead to two points, Kokomo’s Shakeeta Cotton rebounded and was fouled.
That turned out to be the game’s biggest play. Cotton hit two free throws to bump the lead to 43-37 and from there, the Kats closed it out at the line. In all, senior guards Cotton, Kayla Drake and Kelcey Ackison hit 9 of 10 free throws in that final 65 seconds.
The Kats’ senior quartet was huge in making sure they took the Mavs down for the second time this season. Drake struggled shooting (2 of 15) but earned her merit badge with a solid floor game that included game-high marks of five steals and five assists and she tied Ackison with game scoring honors of 11 points.
Ackison was the only player on the floor who had any success from 3-point range. She nailed all three of her long-range shots in the second half and was 3 of 5 overall on a night when the remaining players on both teams combined for just 5 of 33 accuracy.
Cotton added nine points and six boards and Aelleon Woodard finished with 10 points and a team-best eight boards. One of Woodard’s rebounds was enormous in the fourth. With the Kats clinging to a five-point lead, Woodard went over a defender, grabbed an offensive board off the front end of a missed one-and-one and stuffed it back in.
Abby Hemmeger came off the bench to score four points and grab four boards and Kelly Hopkins hit her only shot, claimed five boards and had four of Kokomo’s season-high nine blocked shots.
While Kokomo played hard for 32 minutes, the Kats had foul problems that led to free throws that kept McCutcheon in pursuit. At one point early in the third quarter, the Mavs had hit on only 3 of 24 shots, yet led by two points. Heading into the final quarter, the Mavs’ misery continued to the tune of 4 of 31, including 1 of 12 from 3-point range.
“No excuses, but we didn’t shoot well and we didn’t do a good job stopping their penetration,” Snyder said. “We were chasing too much and when you do that, you end up reaching and grabbing.
“We were pleased with the effort and the result, but in between, we have some things to work on.”

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