A year filled with highs and lows came to an end on Saturday night as the Switzerland County Lady Pacers fell to Southwestern 81-40 in the championship game of the Class 2A Milan Sectional.
“First of all, they’re a very good team,” Switzerland County coach Wayne Ellegood said of the Lady Rebels. “The team that they put on the floor is very good. They’ve had a good year and they’ve beaten some big-time teams. They beat Jeffersonville, Columbus North, and Castle, and at one time or another all of those were ranked in the top 10 in the state in Class 4A. Southwestern is an outstanding basketball team.”
That said, after watching his troops play the Class 2A second-ranked Lady Rebels twice along with four other games, Coach Ellegood thought Saturday night was another high water mark for Southwestern.
“Saturday night was the best I’ve seen them play this year. They were just flawless,” the Switzerland County coach said. “We weren’t going to beat them on Saturday night. Sometimes you just have to pat your opponent on the back and wish them well, I guess.”
The first quarter was a game of runs, as Switzerland County opened by scoring the game’s first four points; but Southwestern answered that with a run of nine straight. Switzerland County countered with seven straight to take a 10-9 lead – but with the opening quarter just half over, that would be the high point for the Lady Pacers for the game.
Southwestern ran off to a 21-11 lead by the end of the quarter; swelled that advantage to 49-19 by halftime; and spent much of the second half running subs in and out with their regulars in preparation for their Regional showdown on Saturday with top-ranked Heritage Christian.
By the end of the third period, the Southwestern lead was 66-28; and a 15-12 final quarter put the final score at 81-40.
The Lady Rebels shot nearly as well from the floor as they did from the freethrow line, shooting at a 49.2-percent clip from the floor; while shooting just 50-percent - 11-for-22 – at the charity stripe.
Switzerland County shot nearly 64-percent from the floor in the first half, but the problem was that the Lady Pacers only attempted 11 shots while Southwestern took 39. For the game, Southwestern took 26 more shots than Switzerland County; and also attempted 10 more freethrows.
Switzerland County got continued outstanding play from junior Morgan Ross, who has played some stellar games for the Lady Pacers throughout the season, and has really come on as the season wound down. On Saturday night she led her team with 10 points and also had six rebounds and two steals.
Tanya Sefton had seven points on the night; and Ashley Bright wrapped up her high school career with six points, four rebounds, and three assists after being the focal point of the Southwestern defense throughout the game.
Amber Smith added five points; Megan McCarty had four; and April Thieman, Courtney Cole, Shana Todd, and Karista Wengert each added two points to the total.
April Thieman also contributed five rebounds.
Southwestern was led by Jesse Oliver with 22 points; while Devin Brierly finished with 19 points and Sarah Roth was in double figures with 13.