Dorine Minala (34) of Darton College shoots over the outstretched arms of Bianca Fennessee (22) of Albany Technical College to score during an NJCAA Region XVII/Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association women's basketball game on Saturday, February 19, 2011. Darton defeated Albany Tech, 70-58, to earn the No. 3 seed for the Region XVII tournament that starts on Wednesday, February 23, 2011.
Photo courtesy of Walter L. Johnson II
by Walter L. Johnson II
The Darton College Lady Cavaliers basketball team won a game that went beyond just
earning bragging rights Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Cavs scored the game’s first nine points, all within the opening minutes, as they cruised to a 70-58 win over the Lady Titans.
With the win, Darton (17-13, 8-6 NJCAA Region XVII/GCAA) clinched the No. 3 seed for the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament Wednesday. The Lady Cavaliers will host the yet to be determined No. 6 seed at Cavalier Arena.
“It’s a good win for the team, and it’s a good team (ATC) that we beat,” Darton head coach Laura Blackwell said after the game. “So, we’re glad to have beaten the (Lady Titans) at home, and got a victory.”
Darton avenged an earlier loss to Albany Tech at the Albany State University HPER Gymnasium, 66-63, behind a game-high 18 points from Christina Brown.
Auburn Randolph, a sophomore who played her final game in a Darton uniform, added 14 points, while another sophomore, Dorine Minala, finished with eight points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Titans spent the entire game trying to play catch-up against the Lady Cavs, getting to within six points just once during the second half at 49-43 with less than seven and a half minutes to play. It also didn’t help that the Lady Titans found themselves on the wrong end of some questionable calls from the officials.
“Every time we made a run, (Darton) pretty much answered our run,” Albany Tech head coach Kenneth Williams said after the game. “My players, they got caught up a whole lot in the officiating, and I tell them a lot, you let me worry about that, you can’t get caught up in the officiating. They’re not going to see every call. We just got to play.”
“(Darton) had way more energy than what we had,” Williams added. “We were flat, we definitely came out flat, and late in the game, (the Lady Cavs) actually hit their free throws down the stretch, and that was actually one of the biggest things in the second half.”
Ann Wilcher scored 17 points, while adding 10 rebounds, to lead Albany Tech (19-11, 7-7) in a losing cause. Shaylia Jester finished with 12 points, while Bianca Fennessee had 10 points for the Lady Titans.
With the loss to Darton, the ATC women must settle for the No. 4 seed in next week’s NJCAA Region XVII/GCAA tournament, with the Lady Titans hosting the No. 5 seed. Williams wants his team to put that tough loss to the Lady Cavaliers behind them, and turn their focus to winning their first-ever conference tournament game.
“We’re going to come in on Wednesday, we’re going to play hard, and go back to the drawing board in practice, seeing things that we need to work on, and we’re just going to go from there,” said Williams.
As for Darton, the Lady Cavaliers appear to be poised to win the Region XVII tournament on their home court, Blackwell said.
“The confidence that they gained (Saturday) should hold them together (in the conference tournament),” said Blackwell. “We’re a young team, but we’re peaking at the right time. So I like the effort that’s given at the end.”
The NJCAA Region XVII/GCAA tournament gets underway with play-in games Wednesday at the sites of the top four seeds, including games at ASU and Darton. The semifinals and finals will be played next Friday, and Saturday, (Feb. 25 and 26) respectively, at Darton College.
