Friday, January 19, 2007
Emily Smith broke teammate Erica Sims' school record of seven 3-point goals that was set last week.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LISBON -- Lisbon High's Erica Sims' school record for 3-pointers in a game (seven) lasted for one game.
Technically, it didn't last that long as it took Sims' teammate, junior guard Emily Smith, about 29 minutes to break the mark that the senior Sims set last week against East Palestine.
During Lisbon's 71-52 victory over Springfield on Thursday, Smith was on fire early, hitting six treys in the first half as the Blue Devils (11-2, 6-1 Inter Tri-County League Tier One) jumped out to a 40-22 lead.
She scored a 3-pointer in each of the third and fourth quarters to finish with eight.
"Almost a whole week," said Sims with a laugh. "I'm not surprised -- she's a more consistent shooter so she more than likely would have broken it anyway."
The Blue Devils' pressure forced multiple Tigers turnovers early on as Smith (28 points) and Sims (27) combined to make 22 baskets.
"We're known for run-and-gun," Smith said of the Blue Devils' rapid style. "But there's not been a game yet where we've been on fire like this. We kept hitting shots and running the ball well.
"My teammates kept getting me the ball and encouraging me," said Smith, who estimated that she might have once made four 3-pointers in a game.
Kohler is impressed
Springfield (5-8, 3-4) coach Sandi Kohler was impressed.
"Give credit to them -- they shot the lights out," Kohler said. "They did a great job of doubling the ball."
The Blue Devils, who along with Crestview and United have one league loss, scored the game's first 16 points.
But late in the second quarter, the Tigers came to life as Allyson Berry and Whitney Yaeger scored the final six points of the half.
The surge continued in the third quarter as the Tigers posted an 11-2 run to cut the Blue Devils lead to 42-39.
It wasn't close for long.
Three-pointers by Smith and Sims helped Lisbon score the next 10 points. Under pressure, the Tigers didn't score in the final four minutes of the third quarter.
"We played so hard when we cut the gap," Kohler said. "But once we got back in the game, we lost our intensity and our focus. My kids have shone heart all year -- we just have hardly any experience.
"We tell the kids that we know we're going to mistakes, but they still hurt," Kohler said. "And every time we made one tonight, [Lisbon] capitalized."
Entriken: We are blessed
Lisbon coach Jamie Entriken says his team is blessed with talent.
"I actually believe we have three with that kind of outside shooting ability, and the other just hasn't gotten hot yet," said Entriken, referring to senior guard Caitlin Glenn. "Between Glenn, Emily and Erica, it's a deadly combination if we get them open."
Glenn scored six points and made six assists. Sims pulled down 11 rebounds and made five steals. Smith had four steals.
Freshman Andria Lyons led the Tigers with 14 points and three steals. Yaeger, a junior, netted 10 and made nine rebounds.
Smith and Sims said next week is Lisbon's toughest of the season -- playing at home against Crestview on Monday and at United on Thursday.
"We have to win our next two games, which are our biggest," Sims said.
Smith added, "We have to win the rest of our games to win the ITCL. It's a lot tougher than last year. All of the teams are pretty equal -- there really aren't any bad teams."
williams@vindy.com