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Cardinals eliminated by Southwestern in opening round of 48th District Melodie Phelps News Editor The Wayne County Cardinals opened play in the 48th District Tournament against top-seeded Southwestern, in a game played on Monday, February 27. Southwestern had taken big wins over the Cardinals in the previous two meetings this season, and things weren't much different in the tournament contest. The Warriors jumped ahead quickly and raced on for an 84-56 win in the contest, which was played at Southwestern High School. The loss ended Wayne County's streak of 12 consecutive district championships. "For us to have a chance to win this game, it was imperative that we get off to a fast start and have the lead early to put pressure on their shooters, but our early turnovers were devastating," said Wayne County Coach Rodney Woods. "We played a special defense but we couldn't get in it much due to the turnovers near the mid-court line." The Cardinal defense was focused on stopping Southwestern senior Dustin Fothergill, who had scored a school-record 44 points the last time the two teams met. Wayne County held Fothergill to only 9 points last Monday night, but the Warriors Jonathan Edwards picked up the slack. He scored 23 points to lead Southwestern. Edwards scored 15 of those in the opening quarter, as the Warriors headed out to the 29-9 advantage at the stop. The Cards managed to cut into Southwestern's lead in the second quarter, and trailed by 18, 44-26, at the half. The local squad couldn't find a way to rally and dig out of the hole. They didn't get off to a great start in the second half and scored only 7 points in the quarter. Southwestern put 17 points on the guard and led 61-33 going into the final eight minutes. The Cardinals were led offensively by sophomore Jacob Gregory with 14 points. Gregory had 6 rebounds and 2 steals in the game. Ronnie Ellis scored 10 points and senior W.K. Allen, playing in his final game for Wayne County, added 9 points. Ellis led the Cards in assists with 4. Southwestern had two other players in double figures as well. Casey Dalton scored 19 and Casey Daugherty added 13 in the win. Wayne County shot 37 percent from the floor, hitting 21 of 57. They were 6 of 18 from behind the arc for 33 percent. From the charity stripe, the Cardinals hit 8 of 15 for 53 percent. The Warriors hit 34 of 59 from the floor for 57 percent. Southwestern shot 36 percent for 3-pointers, hitting 11 of 30. They were 5 of 7 from the free throw line for 71 percent. Southwestern had the slight advantage on the boards, out rebounding Wayne County 34-33. The Cards committed 12 turnovers, while Southwestern had only 9. "This ends a very frustrating season for our players, coaches and fans and now we have to go to work for next season to avoid this from becoming a habit," said Woods. "The last time we didn't get to the regional tournament (1993) we came back to win consecutive regional tournaments, so our goal is to have one of the biggest turnarounds in history, to go from 3-24 to becoming a regional contender," said Woods. With the win, Southwestern improved to 19-8 on the season and moved on to the 48th District title game, which was played on Thursday, March 2. The Warriors defeated McCreary Central to win the championship. They advanced to regional action this week. Add a comment |
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