Lady Cavs deny Miami Trace 3rd win

One of the toughest things to do in basketball is beat a team three times in a single season.

Miami Trace entered Saturday’s contest with the upper hand, having already topped Chillicothe twice this season. Nobody was more aware of this than Lady Cavaliers’ head coach Pat Beard. When asked about the third match-up, he had this to say:

“I think we played our best game of the year defensively. The girls really bought into the game plan. We were able to execute it very well.”

Very well, indeed. Chillicothe won, 32-19.

Coming out of the gate, Miami Trace had one goal in mind – do not let Shawnee Smith take control of the game. The Lady Cavalier forward was denied the basketball as soon as she stepped over the midcourt line. The game plan Coach Beard prepared was put into action from the opening tip. Tanea Cousins, Shawntel Smith, Osh Brown and Jasmine Jordan made sure the defense would hold up, despite the difficulty finding an offensive rhythm. The group of four forced Miami Trace to five first-quarter turnovers and a multitude of jump balls. The score after one quarter of play was very true to the game plan; 4-3 with Miami Trace on top.

Heading into the second quarter, Shawnee Smith decided she was going to take the offense into her own hands. Scoring all six points of the quarter for her team, she was bound to break out of the pressure defense and see her team come out on top. Her efforts eventually led to a 9-9 halftime tie.

Coach Beard took full advantage of the break to redefine the offensive game plan and open the game up for his girls.

“We talked about getting her (Shawnee Smith) involved at halftime. Waverly had done the same thing to us and so we had some plays drawn up to implement her into the game. We didn’t score many points, but whenever you play a team like Miami Trace – a well-coached team – that will happen.”

The second half was all Lady Cavs. Osh Brown did what Osh Brown does and grabbed her share of rebounds, while adding six points for her team in the third quarter. Miami Trace, however, would not go away, scoring four unanswered points to regain the lead. After that, it was back to the game plan for the Lady Cavs. Momentum seemed to be in favor of the Lady Panthers until a huge hustle play by Jasmine Jordan sent her to the line for a one-and-one and puts the Lady Cavs’ at the line for the remainder of the game.

It was closing time, which means it was Osh Brown and Shawnee Smith time. A rebound and a kick out with less than two minutes left to play gave the Cavaliers an 11-point advantage and a cushion to ride out the game. Shawnee was cold-blooded from the line, going six of six and burying the Lady Panthers. She finished with a game high 16, ten of which came in the second half. Coach Beard’s game plan proved successful as the Cavs’ closed out and were able to cut down the nets on a 32-19 final score. The Lady Cavs will play Sheridan in a division II district semifinal Thursday at Southeastern High School.