Goshen tops McKenzie in opening round of SEAC Tourney
Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 17, 2005
BRANTLEY - McKenzie girls basketball coach Cindy Lowe could do nothing but shake her head in disgust.
Three days after beating Goshen in a key area game, the Lady Eagles got their revenge and snapped the Lady Tigers' six-game winning streak with a 47-40 victory in the opening round of the Southeast Athletic Conference Tournament Thursday night.
“Our kids showed up in body, but not in mind,” Lowe said. “Maybe after beating them on Monday, they thought that they would win again with no problem.”
Shonketta Christian led Goshen with 15 points, while Zachous Pollard had 14.
It seemed as though McKenzie (7-2) would advance to today's championship game after jumping out to a 16-9 lead after the first eight minutes of the game.
But Goshen kept fighting. The Lady Eagles drew within a point of McKenzie late in the second period before LaRonica Peterson netted her only basket of the game with a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left to give the Lady Tigers a 24-20 lead.
It didn't take the Lady Eagles long in the second half to chip away at McKenzie's lead. Goshen took the lead with six minutes left to play and continued to build its lead. The dagger in the Lady Tigers heart was a halfcourt shot that found nothing but the bottom of the net to give the Lady Eagles a comfortable 36-31 advantage heading into the final stanza.
Goshen built its lead to as much as 12 points in the fourth period before McKenzie made an attempt to chip away at the Eagles' lead.
The Lady Tigers drew as close as six points in the final period, but could not mount a scoring run to stop Goshen.
Amber Rudolph led McKenzie with 12 points, while Akeia Owens added nine.
McKenzie will host Brantley Tuesday in its last game before Christmas break.