"Grand Island High School Sports Briefs for week ending March 1, 2012"
Coaches: Send your team results to teddy@giecom.net
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Girls Basketball - Saturday, February 25, 2012
Grand Island 55 - Williamsville East 18
Kallie Banker (GI) - double-double 14 points - 12 assists
Cassie Oursler (GI) - 23 points
Girls Basketball Class A-1 final - Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Grand Island 47 - Iroquois 35
Niagara Gazette - March 1, 2012
by Doug Smith
Iroquois' wounded warriors gave Grand Island's girls a healthy scare in the Section VI Class A-1 semifinals here Wednesday night.
Then the defending champions fashioned a powerpoint demonstration of why good teams survive bad games, winning 47-35 to earn a spot opposite Hamburg in the high noon finals Saturday at Niagara County Community College.
Kallie Banker scored all 18 of her points in the second half.
"Iroquois had some injured players, and they still did a great job," said a deeply relieved coach Jenepher Banker as the final horn still echoed through the hall. "They played like they had nothing to lose. I hope we learn from that."
As for Kallie's lopsided halves, coach Jenepher said, "Well, she got a little more aggressive in the second half, particularly the fourth period. Sometimes the shots just aren't falling, and she's an unselfish player, but you have to keep shootin'."
Kallie was 0-for-9 until following her ninth miss for two with 2:05 to go in the third for a 25-25 tie. The Vikings had gone scoreless for almost six minutes. After K.C. Sokolski put the Chiefs ahead for the last time, Banker scored on an in-bound with 0:10 left in the third. The Vikings then threw up a stop and Banker's drive drew a foul, two shots for 29-27 lead at the buzzer.
A half-minute into the fourth Banker's steal collected a foul, making one of two. Then a pull-up 3 made it 33-27 and an inbounds pass, Banker to Cassie Oursler, produced the largest lead of the game so far, 35-27.
The Chiefs rallied briefly until Banker fed Oursler for two, canned a side "3" and drove for two more. Isle led 42-31 and it was all over but the shouting (a few half-hearted "shutups" from rival partisans) and the shooting. Oursler and Banker made five of six free throws down to the final dribble-out.
"The defense stepped it up," coach Banker said.
After shooting respectably for three quarters, the Chiefs made just 1 of 11 in the fourth. Isle survived a 2-for-16 third. Banker scored 18, Oursler 16 and lefty Kassie Bennett lobbed in eight in the first half. Lauren Jensen scored 15 for Iroquois.
TOSS-UPS: With four players in double figures, Hamburg defeated Hutch-Tech 63-38, with the losing Engineers scoring 20 in the last six minutes... Iroquois' busted-up players did a little pre-game crutch dance... Ticket-takers included former major league baseballer Phil Mankowski.. Neutral observers felt GI got a bit the better of the officiating in a rough-and-tumble game... GI's girls will be carrying the torch for the Viking boys, who lost to Hamburg last week on a one-point buzzer-beater.