Jo-Hi girls beat North Lake, celebrate early season victory

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, December 6, 2011

An exciting finish to their first tournament of the season gives the Joseph girls basketball team momentum going forward, with a 1-1 record.

The E-Gals lost to the Adrian Antelopes, 21-42, but beat the North Lake Cowboys of Silver Lake, 26-24, in the Prairie City Tip Off Tournament Dec. 2-3.

“They played pretty good defense, but had way too many turnovers against Adrian. … It was tough to stay with them,” coach Kyle Burnett said of his team.

The coach was much happier about the North Lake game, but noted that his girls, who made 10 of their points in the fourth quarter, could have played better.

As it was, the Joseph girls were down by four points when Breeana Gibson hit a three-point shot with only one-and-a-half minutes on the clock in the fourth quarter. The E-Gals were still down by a point when senior Jade DeLury sank another three-pointer, with only 10 seconds to go, pulling Joseph ahead by two.

“I was excited, but have to admit that my first reaction was relief,” said Burnett. He’s happy his team already has a game in the win column. “Last year we didn’t win a game until January,” he recalled.

“It was an exciting game. The girls are playing much better than the same time a year ago,” Burnett said.

The coach said that even in the game against Adrian, Joseph was stronger than a year ago, when the Antelopes won 51-26, even after sending in their JV players. “They didn’t do that this year,” he said.

Against Adrian: junior Lexi Shae Tippett, 5 points; senior Jade DeLury, 4; sophomore Breeanna Gibson, 4; senior Paige Hunting, 3; and sophomores, Hailee McClure, Holly Taylor and Noel Taylor, each 2 points.

Gibson scored 10 points in the North Lake game, followed by DeLury and Tippett with five apiece.

“We have some really good, talented young players, with some talented freshmen and junior high players coming up,” said Burnett.

Joseph had back-to-back state championships in 2008 and 2009, and unexpectedly made it to the state championship game in 2010. However, Burnett started his first season as head coach a year ago with only one senior, a handful of juniors and a lot of freshmen. “We’re on the upswing, but it’s been real painful getting back,” Burnett said.