Web posted
Friday, February 29, 2008
Kapaun Mt. Carmel ends Ark City girls season
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Photo by David Wolman
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By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor
sports@arkcity.net
WICHITA -- When Natalie Schafer hit an open layup for an 18-5 Kapaun Mt. Carmel lead after one quarter, it appeared that the Lady Crusaders were going to run away with Thursday's game.
Arkansas City had trouble handling Kapaun's backcourt pressure and quick ball rotation. As a result, Bulldogs coach Bill Stinson had to burn two timeouts in a span of less than two minutes.
Even with all that went wrong during the last half of the first quarter and early stages of the second quarter for the Bulldogs, they didn't throw the towel in on their season.
Ark City found a way to adjust to Kapaun's pace. And when the Lady Crusaders made a run, the Bulldogs pushed back.
But when the game was on the line and big plays needed to be made, Kapaun's star senior Darice Fountaine was there to rescue the Lady Crusaders and deliver the final blows to Ark City's season.
Fountaine scored 12 of Kapaun's last 13 points, leading the 10th-ranked Lady Crusaders to a 52-43 win over Ark City in the sub-state semifinals.
Fountaine came alive in the second half to score 16 of her 22 points, in addition to 10 rebounds. She also recorded one of two key blocks in the final minute for Kapaun.
The Lady Crusaders advance to Saturday's championship game of the Bishop Carroll-Bracket B, where it will face Emporia. Ark City finished the season 4-17.
Even in defeat, Bulldogs coach Bill Stinson lauded his team for not giving up after trailing by double digits early on.
"I told them that I was very proud of not doing that," he said. "That's a better way to finish, even though it ends up in a loss."
Ark City kept pace early, lead 5-4 following a Kasha Hunt layup. But in a blur, the Lady Crusaders, took advantage of several steals and used a 13-0 run to grab a double-digit lead. Kapaun hounded Ark City's ball handlers and forced six turnovers in the first quarter.
Jill Wyss recorded a putback off an Andrea Latz miss, while being fouled by Kasha Hunt, for a 16-5 lead. Kapaun scored on eight straight possessions at one point in the first quarter.
Kapaun kept the foot on the pedal early in the second quarter. Fountaine made a layup for a 25-11 lead -- Kapaun's largest on the night -- with 5:15 remaining before intermission.
Clearly, the Lady Crusaders had established the quick pace it wanted.
But the Bulldogs adjusted. And once they saw Kapaun overloading on its backcourt pressure, Ark City took advantage.
Ark City also jumped into the passing lanes and recorded a couple of steals.
Natalie Stinson recorded a steal and converted an open layup to cut Kapaun's lead to 25-15. In the final minute of the first half, she dribbled the ball behind her back and converted a layup. That capped off a 10-0 run for Ark City.
Karyle Sturd was then left open for two layups. She followed that up with a putback with 19 seconds remaining before halftime to cut Kapaun's lead to 27-23 -- all part of a 12-3 Bulldogs spurt to close out the half.
"We finally got the ball ahead on a press (defense)," coach Stinson said. "It seems like this year, we haven't done that. And we just finished. That helped us to get back into the game.'
Sturd recorded eight of her 10 points in the second quarter, in addition to seven rebounds. Megan Cook hit two free throws with no time remaining for a 29-23 Kapaun lead at intermission. She finished with 11 points.
The Lady Crusaders pushed their lead back to double digits twice in the third quarter, but Ark City quickly responded.
Natalie Stinson paced Ark City's offense in the second half, scoring 13 of the Bulldogs' 20 points. She scored Ark City's first nine points of the third quarter, en route to a 22-point effort.
Nikki Jordan hit a 15-foot jumper to cut Kapaun's lead to 39-34.Natalie Benton hit a layup with 2:05 remaining in the game to get the Bulldogs to within 49-43.
But during critical situations down the stretch, the ball found its way into the hands of Fountaine.
Fountaine scored eight straight points, spanning from late in third quarter to early in the fourth. A pass from the perimeter pinballed to Fountaine, much to her surprise. She converted the layup to start her scoring streak.
"We were starting to get a little tired and they were becoming a little physical," coach Stinson said. "That's just the kind of spurt that we've given up (at times during the season)."
Fountaine sank two free throws with 1:10 remaining to seal the win.
Ark City 5 18 11 9 -- 43
Kapaun 18 11 14 9 -- 52
Ark City -- Stinson 22, Sturd 10, Benton 5, Jordan 2, Hunt 2, White 2. Totals (1) 11-14 43.
Kapaun -- Fountaine 22, Cook 11, Smith 5, Albright 4, Lantz 4, Schafer 3, Wyss 2, Hullings 1. Totals (1) 9-15.
Above: Arkansas City sophomore Karlye Sturd runs the court in a fast-break opportunity on Thursday night, while being chased by Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior JoJo Palko. Sturd recorded eight of her 10 points in the second quarter.
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