Metro holds back Region
A couple of the Jack Blair Memorial Girls AAU All-Star Basketball games have had closer final margins.
It’s doubtful that any previous Region team had dug out of as deep a hole and still had a chance to win as it did Thursday.
The Metro team kept its unbeaten streak intact, capturing the 14th edition by an 85-73 count at Lake City High School.
The Region team didn’t let a 0-for-10 shooting start and a 20-minute stretch in the middle of the game take away hope.
After falling behind by 13 points 9 minutes into the game, the Region fought back within 25-21 with 8:52 remaining before halftime.
But as fast as one could say fastbreak, the Metro was on its way to a 55-33 lead going into intermission.
The Region players found themselves trailing by 24 points twice in the early minutes of the second half. But a combination of two zone defenses allowed the Region to fight back. Richelle Fenenbock of Lake City made a driving basket while being fouled, and her free throw pulled the Region within 77-72 with 5:17 to go.
But the Region couldn’t take advantage of seven straight opportunities to cut the lead to less than five points. The Metro responded, closing the game on an 8-1 spurt to squelch the Region’s hopes of winning for the first time in the series.
“It was fun. I thought we gave them a little scare there at the end,” said Lake City coach Darren Taylor, who headed up the Region team. “The rules didn’t favor us. We had to go man-to-man the whole first 20 minutes. That kind of hurt us. Both the Lake City and Coeur d’Alene teams like to run 2-3 zone and 3-2 zone. When we went to that, you could see that we cut into the lead. We had a couple of shots there. I don’t think they’ve been scared too much in this game.”
Dara Zack of University, who is headed to Saint Martin’s University, sparked Metro’s fast start. She scored 13 of her team-high 19 points in the first half. She had nine as Metro opened a 19-7 lead.
The 5-foot-9 forward was named the most valuable player.
Metro took advantage of an obvious advantage in quickness and athleticism.
“Coach (Jim) Redmon told us that was a couple of our strengths,” Zack said. “That’s what really propelled us throughout. We had a little more experience and I think we were a little more athletic.”
Zack was impressed that the Region team didn’t quit.
“They’re really talented,” Zack said. “From what I heard this is one of their better teams. They didn’t give up.”
Nikki Nelson of Chewelah was named the most inspirational player. She scored all 11 of her points in the first half for Region.
“I watched (Nelson) shoot yesterday (in practice) and I thought she was good, but watching her in a game as it flows, she’s a very good shooter,” Taylor said. “She’s going to do well at New Mexico.”
Jenny McVeigh of Post Falls led Region with 14 points. Lake City post Katie Baker, who had to miss the first half while she attended her brother’s graduation, had 10 rebounds and four points in the second half.
Katelan Redmon, who led Lewis and Clark to the State 4A title in Washington, had 15 points, dazzling the crowd frequently with spin moves in transition.