FLAMES FALL IN TOURNAMENT FINAL
One of the strengths of the Lodi High girls basketball team is the ability to rebound the ball.
But the Swett High squad limited the amount of second chances on Saturday with its accurate shooting to take the title of the Lady Flames Classic at The Inferno. Swett wasted little time in sinking the ball through the net for a 73-39 win over Lodi for the title.
“We just came out flat,” said Lodi coach Brandon Shea. “We didn’t take care of the ball. We didn’t play good defense. We weren’t contesting.”
Halfway through the first quarter, Swett only led 13-8. But in the final two minutes, the Warriors had a 7-0 run thanks to its defense forcing Flame turnovers that expanded their lead to 20-8 over Lodi (4-7).
Behind the rebounding of forwards Brooke Aberle, one of two Lodi players who were named to the all-tournament team, and Ellie Van Tassel and guard Marissa Fabian, the second quarter had the Flames trim the Warriors’ lead to 2014. Aberle and Van Tassel had seven boards each and Fabian, who was also named to the all-tournament team, had six. Lodi finished with 33 rebounds that included 22 on defense.
“We got a couple,” said Shea of the Flames’ offensive rebounds. “But by then, we’re not making any shots.”
Lodi had 14 turnovers in the game; one player had three turnovers and four players had two each.
In the same quarter, Swett point guard Veronica McGee scored seven of her 14 points by taking shots at or near the baselines. The quarter prior, Warrior 6-foot-2 forward Mia Stewart, who was named to the all-tournament team, had nine of her game-high 18 points.
Swett led 36-21 at halftime. The Flames, who had played a mixture of full-court and various zone defenses in the first half, started the third quarter with a 2-3 zone defense. As the quarter continued, Lodi switched to a 2-1-2 defense that seemed to have slowed down the Warriors’ offense.
While Swett had trouble scoring, rebounding the ball on the offensive and defensive sides kept Lodi from taking extra shots at the net. The Warriors led 47-29 after the quarter.
“They beat us to every 50-50 ball,” Shea said. “They were boxing out. We weren’t ready to play.”
Before the halfway point of the final quarter, Swett upped its lead to 60-36. Both Shea and Swett coach Ronnie McGee cleared their respective benches to close out the game.
Saturday’s game was Lodi’s fifth in six days. The Flames beat Mountain House in a winner’s bracket game on Friday and knocked off Downey of Modesto in the classic opener on Thursday. Lodi had non-leagues at the beginning of last week.
“I’m not going to say fatigue,” said Shea of the Flames’ number of games during the week, then referring back to Saturday’s game. “It was just one of
those games that we were happy to be there.”
Fabian had 14 points and five of the Flames’ eight assists. Van Tassel followed with 13 points and two of the team’s four steals. Aberle had eight points and guard Aiyana Evans and center Isabella Fugazi had two points each.
Behind Stewart and McGee in scoring for the Warriors were guard Lexie Datcher with 14 points, and guards Jayden Bussey and Andheya Aurelio 11 points each.
Lodi welcomes Vacaville at The Inferno in a non-league contest today.