March 21, 1999
By Dave Feltner
Sports Editor
COLUMBUS &emdash; Doug Reynolds, DiDi Reynolds, Kate Gase and Lindsay Borer all trudged into the media room to address reporters after the Division IV state championship.
They were tired, they were worn out and they were beaten.
They were also champions.
They had to fight through one of the most physical games they ever had to play, but when it was all over the Hopewell-Loudon Chieftains emerged as state champions after posting a 61-51 victory over South Charleston Southeastern.
It's always trite to say such things, but this was truly a dream come true.
''When I was a kid and my dad was coaching for 30 years, it started out as a dream then,'' Hopewell-Loudon coach Doug Reynolds said of winning a state championship game. ''Then when my kids came through the program, that was the next dream. I've been coming down here to watch the boys and girls tournaments, and I've always wondered what it would be like to be down on the sidelines coaching a team. Last year we got that feeling, but it wasn't enough. This year we wanted more.''
And they had to go through a fierce physical battle to get it.
Southeastern (26-2) tried to slow down the Chieftains' (27-1) frenzied pace by turning the game into an aggressive, half-court slugfest. Or as Gase joked after the game, ''I had to check and see if I still had my arms.''
And it had the Chieftains rattled early.
DiDi Reynolds, who committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, scored just one bucket in the game's first six-and-a-half minutes, and Hopewell-Loudon fell into a 9-5 hole with a minute left in the first. Only buckets by Gase and Reynolds in the final minute salvaged a 9-9 tie at the first stop.
''Basically, I just didn't want (DiDi) to get the ball,'' said Southeastern guard Stephanie Campbell, who drew the assignment of guarding Reynolds. ''And even when she did get it I was forcing her to go right because she takes the ball left every time. I bumped her around a lot because I don't think she likes a lot of contact. I gave her a little shove and a little bump there. I was just trying to frustrate her as much as possible.''
At the Southeastern end, it was a pretty much a one-girl show. Leah Donaldson scored all nine Trojan points in the first quarter, and grabbed six of her team's nine first-quarter rebounds. In fact, until the 2:55 mark of the third quarter, Donaldson was the lone Southeastern starter to grab a rebound.
So the Chieftain focus became simple &emdash; stop her.
''Lindsay took care of that,'' coach Reynolds said. ''We talked about going to a zone, but we didn't do it. We just told Lindsay that she just had to get a little bit more physical on her because they were sure letting (Donaldson) do what she wanted to do. Lindsay did an excellent job on her.''
That was reflected by the events of the second quarter. Donaldson scored just one point and had two rebounds in the quarter, and even though Reynolds was limited to four points, Hopewell-Loudon slipped into halftime with a 10-point lead, 27-17.
Then in the third, Reynolds finally found an opening. She hit four of her five shots in the quarter, including putbacks on consecutive possessions, to help Hopewell-Loudon to a 42-27 lead by quarter's end.
''We're used to playing against (physical play),'' DiDi said. ''There's times you go into gyms and you just know you're going to get hammered, so you just have to make do. Everybody stepped up, and we just forgot about the refs because it's not really in your hands; you can't do anything about it.''
The Chieftains continuted to roll into the fourth quarter, twice raising the lead to 19 points. The final time came at the 5:41 mark when H-L led, 48-29.
Southeastern, though, did not go down without a fight. Although their starting backcourt of Campbell and Emily Stewart had fouled out, the Trojans made one final run.
Donaldson hit a pair of 3-pointers to help bring it back down to 11 (56-45) with a minute remaining, but the Trojans got no closer until the final margin.
Donaldson finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Campbell pitched in 12 points.
Reynolds had 21 points and 11 boards, and Gase contributed 10 points and three assists. Carrie Norris finished with nine points.
''This took a lot of work,'' coach Reynolds said. ''It's a great thrill. We knew we had the chance to get here, and once you're here you have to get some breaks.''
And then you become champions.