January 26, 2000

Columbian girls lose defensive battle

By Ed Fox
Sports Writer

MANSFIELD -- The transition game has been good to Columbian girls.

But the Tornadoes couldn't get out of first gear Tuesday night in a 49-41 loss to Madison Comprehensive.

"I thought we played pretty good defense but I think they played a little bit better," said Columbian coach Larry Kisabeth. "They spread our offense a little more than we wanted and we didn't shoot the ball very well. I do think our shot selections were alright but we just couldn't knock them down."

The Tornadoes connected on just 16-of-50 action shots while Madison, improving to 8-6, hit 18-of-39 including a 10-of-19 showing in the second half.

Bethany Bradford, a 6-3 senior, paced the Rams with 21 points and 17 of those came in the second half when Madison had a 30-22 scoring advantage. Junior Jillian Firestone chipped in with 11 and Carrie Ritchie had nine for the Rams who have won five in a row.

"We didn't do a very good job on the offensive boards. We're use to scoring a little more inside than we did tonight," said Kisabeth. "I'm disappointed with the loss and also with the fact that we didn't shoot better from the free throw line. We've got to do a better job at the foul line in big games."

Columbian, dropping to 13-2, had a 26-25 edge on the boards with 10 offensive rebounds to just six for Madison. The Rams had an edge at the free throw line with 12-of-17 including 10-of-15 in the final period while the Tornadoes were 7-of-13 from the line and 6-of-12 in the final eight minutes.

Katie Fazekas led the Tornadoes with 15 points while Erin Moore followed with 12 and Kris Keirns just missed with nine while coming off the bench.

It was a close game all the way. The teams were deadlocked on nine occasions, the last being at 31-31 following a layup by Anna Fretz with 6:23 left in the game. She was fouled on the play but missed the free throw and Bradford came back with a three-point play the old-fashioned way just 10 seconds later to give Madison a 34-31 lead and the Rams were in front the rest of the way.

The Tornadoes had a chance to pull even after a steal and layup by Fazekas but she also missed a free throw after being fouled and the Rams stayed in front, 36-35, with 3:51 to go.

Stacey Eagleston canned a jumper at the 3:01 mark to give the Rams a 38-35 lead and Columbian could never get closer than three points the rest of the way, helped by a 6-of-8 effort at the foul line by Madison.

"We were able to shut Bradford down the first half but she got 17 in the second half," said Kisabeth. "I thought the big key for them was No. 34 (Firestone). She hit some big shots and some big free throws the last quarter and did some things we didn't expect. The first half we were able to pack it in and contain Bradford. Firestone hit a couple outside shots we didn't expect and so we focused on her more in the second half.

"We also felt we had to keep the game in the 60s and we weren't able to do that. They were playing their game style. Of course we missed some layups and that hurt us in getting our transition game going."

While Columbian saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end, the Rams won for the fifth straight time.

"Some of the other kids have really started to step it up during this win streak," said Madison coach Andy Booth. "That has taken a lot of pressure away from Bethany and Carrie who we relied on in the early part of the season. The girls are playing more loose right now. Early in the season I don't think this is a game we would've won.

"We had Firestone playing the point early in the season and have switched her to the wing which is the more natural position for her. It has taken the pressure off her. She hit four really crucial free throws at the end tonight.

"We knew they were doubling down on Bethany in the first half. We started looking at different ways to get her the ball and she really came up big in the second half."

Bradford scored all 10 Madison points in the third quarter as the Rams outscored Columbian by a 10-6 margin after the two teams were knotted at 19-19 at halftime.