Relaxed Versailles romps in Division III semi
Versailles players were so excited to be back in the state tournament that they carried on in the hallway leading to the court before tip-off and were still carrying on, well, when Danielle Winner carried teammate Kami McEldowney on her back into the postgame news conference.
The Tigers had four players score in double figures, led by Winner and Camille Watren with 14 points each, and forced 15 turnovers in overwhelming Winchester Eastern 58-34 in a Division III semifinal Friday at Value City Arena.
“I felt like our girls came ready to play," coach Jackie Stonebraker said. “We started the game with a message. In the third and fourth quarters, we started smelling the blood in the water."
It helped that Versailles (26-3) was playing in a semifinal for the third time in four seasons. It won a championship in 2015 and was runner-up in ’14.
McEldowney said the enormous arena actually provided the players with some warmth.
“Man, this is like a second home to us," she said.
Winner seconded that thought. “You should have heard us in the hallway," she said. “We were clapping and cheering. We’re always laughing and having a good time."
Versailles scored the first five points of the game, but what really got the shooters excited was Watren hitting her first three three-pointers.
The lead was 26-13 with two minutes left in the first half after Winner hit a layup on a pass from McEldowney. A layup by Elizabeth Ording made it 41-26 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter.
“It’s unbelievable when you think we’ve been here three of the last four years," Stonebraker said.
“These girls have risen to the challenge. Everyone came ready to play. I don’t know how much better you can play team basketball than that."
Allison Day and Morgan Reynolds led Eastern (26-2) with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Mount Notre Dame brought back the magic that helped it win five championships by pressuring McKinley into shooting 27.3 percent.
The point of emphasis for the Cougars (25-4) had to be Ms. Basketball, and the defense limited Kierstan Bell into shooting 4 of 17 overall and 1 of 9 from threepoint range.
Senior guard Madison Marcum led Mount Notre Dame with 19 points. She was 5 of 9 on three-pointers. Junior forward Abby Voss totaled 12 points, 10 rebounds and two steals and senior center Maria Pisciotta 10 points, nine rebounds and one blocked shot. McKinley (23-6) was attempting to get to its first title game since 2010, when it was champion. Mount Notre Dame will play for its first championship since ’09.