Lynn Burke
03-01-2008, 10:34 PM
Heritage-PA rematch Monday night
By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com (jjordan@dailypress.com)
PORTSMOUTH — Heritage High girls basketball coach Michael Gardner won’t need to give his team a long, inspirational speech before Monday’s Eastern Region championship game against Princess Anne.
He won’t have to tell them about the Cavaliers being ranked No. 1 in the state. Or about 6-foot-3 center Elizabeth Williams being rated one of the top freshmen in the country or even why Raven Harris, an American University signee, was named the Beach District Player of the Year.
“We know all about them,” Gardner said. “We’ve played them before.”
After falling to the Cavs 64-50 in the championship game of the Blue Star Elite Invitational in Philadelphia on Dec. 29, the Hurricanes won’t need any coaxing to get up for tonight’s game.
Heritage beat Wilson 56-35 and Princess Anne rolled past Lake Taylor 64-54 to set up the 6 p.m. game at Churchland High.
“It’s a possibility that it could be us and Heritage in the (state) finals,” Princess Anne coach Darnell Dozier said. “We’ll have to make some adjustments. We’ll play a lot better.”
Heritage forward Sonia Johnson also expects the Canes to play better than they did in the first meeting. She described that effort as “horrible.”
“We couldn’t hit any shots or free throws,” Johnson said. “They’re a really good team, but we really didn’t show what we could do the first time. That will be the motivating factor for us.”
The “payback” role is a new one for Heritage since it swept through the PD regular season and district tournament unblemished.
“We know they want to get us back,” Dozier said. “But we’ll be ready.”
Especially Williams and Harris.
In the ER tournament, Harris is averaging 22.5 points per game. Williams is averaging 11.5 points, 14 rebounds and 9.5 blocks.
“She (Williams) was blocking a lot of our shots in the first game,” Johnson said. “So we’ll have to be pump-faking to get them off of their feet. But we really need to rebound better. That’s the key.”
Added Williams: “I’ll just have to play smart. Heritage is physical and their inside players spin a lot. When they’re going to the basket, they use their body or fade away. I’ll just try and time my blocks better.”
Still, Gardner downplayed the matchup. He said that Heritage’s goal Monday will be the same that it always has been.
“We just want to get better,” Gardner said. “Every game is different, so we’ll take some of the stuff we learned from the first game and hopefully improve. We want to win. That’s all.”
Added Dozier: “We like this game headed into the state tournament. They want to get us back, and we want to show that we’re the top dog. It will be a good game.”
Eastern Region girls final
WHO: Heritage vs. Princess Anne.
WHEN: 6 p.m. Monday.
WHERE: Churchland High School.
By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com (jjordan@dailypress.com)
PORTSMOUTH — Heritage High girls basketball coach Michael Gardner won’t need to give his team a long, inspirational speech before Monday’s Eastern Region championship game against Princess Anne.
He won’t have to tell them about the Cavaliers being ranked No. 1 in the state. Or about 6-foot-3 center Elizabeth Williams being rated one of the top freshmen in the country or even why Raven Harris, an American University signee, was named the Beach District Player of the Year.
“We know all about them,” Gardner said. “We’ve played them before.”
After falling to the Cavs 64-50 in the championship game of the Blue Star Elite Invitational in Philadelphia on Dec. 29, the Hurricanes won’t need any coaxing to get up for tonight’s game.
Heritage beat Wilson 56-35 and Princess Anne rolled past Lake Taylor 64-54 to set up the 6 p.m. game at Churchland High.
“It’s a possibility that it could be us and Heritage in the (state) finals,” Princess Anne coach Darnell Dozier said. “We’ll have to make some adjustments. We’ll play a lot better.”
Heritage forward Sonia Johnson also expects the Canes to play better than they did in the first meeting. She described that effort as “horrible.”
“We couldn’t hit any shots or free throws,” Johnson said. “They’re a really good team, but we really didn’t show what we could do the first time. That will be the motivating factor for us.”
The “payback” role is a new one for Heritage since it swept through the PD regular season and district tournament unblemished.
“We know they want to get us back,” Dozier said. “But we’ll be ready.”
Especially Williams and Harris.
In the ER tournament, Harris is averaging 22.5 points per game. Williams is averaging 11.5 points, 14 rebounds and 9.5 blocks.
“She (Williams) was blocking a lot of our shots in the first game,” Johnson said. “So we’ll have to be pump-faking to get them off of their feet. But we really need to rebound better. That’s the key.”
Added Williams: “I’ll just have to play smart. Heritage is physical and their inside players spin a lot. When they’re going to the basket, they use their body or fade away. I’ll just try and time my blocks better.”
Still, Gardner downplayed the matchup. He said that Heritage’s goal Monday will be the same that it always has been.
“We just want to get better,” Gardner said. “Every game is different, so we’ll take some of the stuff we learned from the first game and hopefully improve. We want to win. That’s all.”
Added Dozier: “We like this game headed into the state tournament. They want to get us back, and we want to show that we’re the top dog. It will be a good game.”
Eastern Region girls final
WHO: Heritage vs. Princess Anne.
WHEN: 6 p.m. Monday.
WHERE: Churchland High School.