Sonny Dearth
03-07-2008, 10:56 PM
Bruton girls erase huge deficit
BY MARTY O'BRIEN | 247-4963
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Bruton High coach Wayne Burnette said he’s never seen a wilder finish than the one he witnessed Friday in the Group AA girls basketball state quarterfinals. That statement encompasses 24 years as a varsity head coach and a buzzer-beating basket that sent his team to the state semifinals four years ago.
But the Panthers’ 49-46 win over Charlottesville on Friday topped even that. Down by 15 points with about five minutes to play in Monticello’s gym, the Panthers rallied to win behind the heroics of Jen Falin, Shariece Samuel and Sharmaine Baker.
The victory sends the Panthers (22-6) back to the AA final four for the first time since 2004. They’ll play at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Siegel Center in Richmond against the winner of tonight’s quarterfinal between Bassett and Waynesboro.
"I remember how exciting it was just sitting as an eighth-grader watching Bruton make the state finals," Falin said after scoring 12 of her 21 points in the comeback. "This is the best win ever, because I was thinking it was going to be my last game."
That thought entered Falin’s mind when the Black Knights (20-8) stretched their lead to 42-27 on Shawntae Payne’s free throw with 5:57 to play. Payne (21 points) and 6-foot-3 center Shalita Brown (14 points, 15 rebounds, eight blocks) had been a dominant inside-outside duo to that point.
Then the Panthers turned the tables with their full-court trap. Moments after Falin made a free throw, Samuel, all 5-foot-3 of her, ripped the ball from Brown’s hands and drove downcourt for a basket to cut the deficit to 42-30.
"That basket gave us back our intensity," said Samuel, who had six of her eight steals in the final five minutes. "We had the desire and heart to come back from there."
Improved free-throw shooting helped. The Panthers missed nine of 14 during one stretch of the second
half. But Letitia Fowler, Falin and Samuel hit five consecutive free throws to cut the Black Knights’ lead to 43-35.
Defense carried the Panthers down the stretch. Baker scored inside on a pass from Falin, who followed with a drive to the basket to make it 45-39. Then Samuel stole the ball on three consecutive possessions.
Too exhausted to run back upcourt, Falin found herself wide open for baskets following Samuel’s first two steals in the sequence. Falin’s layups cut the deficit to 45-43 with 2:42 to play.
Brown fouled out trying to stop Baker after Samuel’s next steal. Baker made the first of two free throws, Falin rebounded the miss and then made a free throw to tie the game at 45 with 2:10 play.
Brown’s absence proved huge moments later. Olivia Levin made a free throw to give the Black Knights their final lead at 46-45 with 1:58 left. Then Samuel passed into Baker, who banked the ball in over a smaller defender to put Bruton ahead 47-46 with 1:35 to go.
"I focused on my shot and didn’t think about the situation," said Baker, a 5-11 freshman who scored 10 points. "That made it easier, because if I’d thought about the score, I might have been nervous."
Falin (eight steals) swiped the ball from Erica Brown and scored on a running bank shot in the lane to make it 49-46 with 1:20 to play. Then Samuel forced Payne into two wild 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
Both missed badly as the Panthers pulled out an improbable win.
"This is the wildest game I’ve seen," Burnette said. "Monique McLean made that last-second shot (in a 61-60 Bruton win) against Charlottesville four years ago to put us in the state semifinals, but we didn’t have to make a comeback like this one.
"We were picked to finish third in our district, and now we’re one of four teams left playing in the state."
BRUTON 49, CHARLOTTESVILLE 46
BRUTON (22-6): Koliopoulos 6, Fowler 3, Rolley 2, Samuel 5, Falin 21, Ellis 2, Baker 10. Totals 15 19-37 49.
CHARLOTTESVILLE (20-8): Payne 21, Jones 2, Von Storch 2, E. Brown 2, Nissen 4, Levine 1, S. Brown 14. Totals 17 8-16 46.
Bruton 12 4 11 22--49
Charlottesville 11 11 17 7--46
3-point goals — Charlottesville 4 (Payne 4). Total fouls — Bruton 17, Charlottesville 22. Fouled out — S. Brown.
BY MARTY O'BRIEN | 247-4963
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Bruton High coach Wayne Burnette said he’s never seen a wilder finish than the one he witnessed Friday in the Group AA girls basketball state quarterfinals. That statement encompasses 24 years as a varsity head coach and a buzzer-beating basket that sent his team to the state semifinals four years ago.
But the Panthers’ 49-46 win over Charlottesville on Friday topped even that. Down by 15 points with about five minutes to play in Monticello’s gym, the Panthers rallied to win behind the heroics of Jen Falin, Shariece Samuel and Sharmaine Baker.
The victory sends the Panthers (22-6) back to the AA final four for the first time since 2004. They’ll play at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Siegel Center in Richmond against the winner of tonight’s quarterfinal between Bassett and Waynesboro.
"I remember how exciting it was just sitting as an eighth-grader watching Bruton make the state finals," Falin said after scoring 12 of her 21 points in the comeback. "This is the best win ever, because I was thinking it was going to be my last game."
That thought entered Falin’s mind when the Black Knights (20-8) stretched their lead to 42-27 on Shawntae Payne’s free throw with 5:57 to play. Payne (21 points) and 6-foot-3 center Shalita Brown (14 points, 15 rebounds, eight blocks) had been a dominant inside-outside duo to that point.
Then the Panthers turned the tables with their full-court trap. Moments after Falin made a free throw, Samuel, all 5-foot-3 of her, ripped the ball from Brown’s hands and drove downcourt for a basket to cut the deficit to 42-30.
"That basket gave us back our intensity," said Samuel, who had six of her eight steals in the final five minutes. "We had the desire and heart to come back from there."
Improved free-throw shooting helped. The Panthers missed nine of 14 during one stretch of the second
half. But Letitia Fowler, Falin and Samuel hit five consecutive free throws to cut the Black Knights’ lead to 43-35.
Defense carried the Panthers down the stretch. Baker scored inside on a pass from Falin, who followed with a drive to the basket to make it 45-39. Then Samuel stole the ball on three consecutive possessions.
Too exhausted to run back upcourt, Falin found herself wide open for baskets following Samuel’s first two steals in the sequence. Falin’s layups cut the deficit to 45-43 with 2:42 to play.
Brown fouled out trying to stop Baker after Samuel’s next steal. Baker made the first of two free throws, Falin rebounded the miss and then made a free throw to tie the game at 45 with 2:10 play.
Brown’s absence proved huge moments later. Olivia Levin made a free throw to give the Black Knights their final lead at 46-45 with 1:58 left. Then Samuel passed into Baker, who banked the ball in over a smaller defender to put Bruton ahead 47-46 with 1:35 to go.
"I focused on my shot and didn’t think about the situation," said Baker, a 5-11 freshman who scored 10 points. "That made it easier, because if I’d thought about the score, I might have been nervous."
Falin (eight steals) swiped the ball from Erica Brown and scored on a running bank shot in the lane to make it 49-46 with 1:20 to play. Then Samuel forced Payne into two wild 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
Both missed badly as the Panthers pulled out an improbable win.
"This is the wildest game I’ve seen," Burnette said. "Monique McLean made that last-second shot (in a 61-60 Bruton win) against Charlottesville four years ago to put us in the state semifinals, but we didn’t have to make a comeback like this one.
"We were picked to finish third in our district, and now we’re one of four teams left playing in the state."
BRUTON 49, CHARLOTTESVILLE 46
BRUTON (22-6): Koliopoulos 6, Fowler 3, Rolley 2, Samuel 5, Falin 21, Ellis 2, Baker 10. Totals 15 19-37 49.
CHARLOTTESVILLE (20-8): Payne 21, Jones 2, Von Storch 2, E. Brown 2, Nissen 4, Levine 1, S. Brown 14. Totals 17 8-16 46.
Bruton 12 4 11 22--49
Charlottesville 11 11 17 7--46
3-point goals — Charlottesville 4 (Payne 4). Total fouls — Bruton 17, Charlottesville 22. Fouled out — S. Brown.