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Sports
Oswego captures long-awaited title : Sports : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisOswego captures long-awaited title
| Wright blocks Whip-Purs' final shot to ensure sectional title
| by Kristin Sharp
| 3/4/2010
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Oswego senior guard Samiya Wright deflected Hampshire's last shot attempt of the game and leapt into the air as the final buzzer sounded to secure the Lady Panthers' first-ever sectional championship.
The Lady Panthers (29-2) celebrated last Thursday's 41-38 win over Hampshire (29-2) in the Class 3A DeKalb Sectional final, but the team quickly regrouped in the locker room and headed to the bus with a new focus set on Monday's Elgin Super-Sectional showdown with Johnsburg. (For results, see page 32.)
"It really is neat. Being in this position last year, coming back and being able to win it is special. The reason it's special too is these girls work really hard. They put in so much time and effort and they deserve it," Oswego head coach Chad Pohlmann said. "You're supposed to be rewarded for your hard work and they definitely have made their mark on the program at Oswego because there have been some pretty good players. [Former] coach Mike Schnable was a really good coach and he established a winning tradition here in basketball and had some great players. It really is neat to know these girls have left their mark on the game."
The dramatic final seconds was a marked change in a game that saw Oswego lead by 15 points at halftime.
"I was just trying to do anything. I didn't want them to get the shot off," said Wright, who finished with a game-high 15 points.
Hampshire rallied from a 23-9 deficit at intermission, going on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter before sophomore guard Paige Harmon's layup with 3:05 on the clock. Wright maintained Oswego's nine-point lead (29-20) with a basket one minute later and the Lady Panthers took advantage of a Hampshire turnover to stretch its lead back to double digits when senior Brittany Collier found Harmon open under the basket for a 31-20 lead.
"They're a good team and I figured they were probably going to make a run and they jumped out on us. We had to find a way to pull it out," Wright said.
Hampshire outscored Oswego 13-8 in the third quarter and committed just one foul since the first quarter as the Lady Panthers were whistled for six alone in the third quarter.
With Oswego leading 31-24 early in the fourth quarter, Collier was called for an offensive charge and junior guard Alexis McClain committed a foul in the paint - her fourth of the night - and Hampshire senior forward Cassie Dumoulin (8 points) sank two at the free-throw line for a 31-26 game.
Wright scored Oswego's next four points before Harmon (14 points) completed a field goal for a 37-28 Oswego lead. Hampshire head coach Sue Ellett called a timeout, but the break didn't help spark the Whip-Purs, who committed a turnover and missed a basket.
But Oswego had its own headaches to deal with on the floor as McClain fouled out of the game with 1:13 on the clock, and Collier was called for an apparent double-dribble call as she tried to inbounds the basketball with 68 seconds remaining.
Wright finally stepped up to lead the Lady Panthers in the waning minute, nailing both free throw attempts to give Oswego a 41-35 lead with 25 seconds remaining.
Oswego senior guard Meagan Rembold was fouled with 15 seconds left, but missed the front end of a one-and-one before Hampshire junior Jessica VanDorin hit a three with nine seconds left to cut the Whip-Purs' deficit to three, 41-38.
Hampshire fouled Harmon with 7.5 seconds left and she too missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Hampshire could not get its final shot attempt off as Wright was there to contest the basket.
"That's a great team that we played. They're well-coached. Those girls play really hard and they gave us a great shot. This is what tournament play is all about. You've got to be able to handle situations. It may not go your way every time down the floor, the ball bounces weird, you miss a free throw here and there, but our girls just kept battling," Pohlmann said. "Samiya and Paige made some plays there in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter to really put us over the top."
Collier, Harmon and Wright helped Oswego get out to a quick start last Thursday night and Hampshire called a timeout trailing 7-3 halfway through the first quarter. The Whip-Purs scored only two field goals in the opening eight minutes, trailing 13-5 at the first buzzer.
"Tournament play is really about getting good, quick starts at the beginning of the halves and that was a huge factor. We were ready to play, and I think that shows our senior leadership and what Brittany, Samiya and Colleen were able to do. They got it done right away and it was a tremendous half. I thought defensively we were really good," Pohlmann said.
Oswego ran its delay game to try and force Hampshire out of its zone defense, and neither team scored for the first three minutes of the second quarter. Wright nailed a trey to push Oswego's lead, 16-5, before junior forward Rosie Gambino and Rembold came off the bench to assist the Panthers. Gambino scored two for Oswego with 2:25 to play, Rembold came up with a steal on the ensuing possession and converted on the opposite end of the floor with a three-pointer to give the Panthers a 21-7 lead.
"We were confident in all our players. Meagan and Rosie contributed to the game (last Thursday). Meagan made a three in the first half and Rosie had a great shot in the second quarter and those points counted. We have total confidence in our bench players," Pohlmann said.
Oswego's 23-9 halftime lead stretched to a 16-point lead when Harmon opened the second half with a basket off an assist from Wright. Hampshire mounted its rally with back-to-back baskets by Dumoulin and soon the Whip-Purs were right back in the game.
Although Wright and Collier both played the closing minutes of the game with four fouls and McClain on the bench with five fouls, Oswego hung on for the sectional victory.
"You just have to keep your composure because you're going to go through adversity and every call isn't going to go your way, so you just have to let it go," Collier said. "We still have another game, so that's all that matters."
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