SouthEastern Edges South

SouthEastern Edged out South in a defensive battle in the opening round of the girls basketball state tournament. It was a low scoring affair as both teams were tentative in their offense but strong on defense.  Which isn't too unusual in tournament play as both schools are meeting for the first time and so like a boxing match, they feel out their opponent to see what will work.  Then you have the tournament factor where both teams are intense and playing tight. Which is not conducive for offensive production.

SouthEastern had an early edge with their half court trap.  It seemed to keep South from getting into an offensive flow and did create turnovers - over 10 in the second half alone.  On the other hand, South seemed to do a good job rebounding and limited SouthEastern to just one shot per possession. Katie Strazheim had a productive second quarter and in a low scoring game, gave South the lead going into the locker room - 10 to 8.  But the third quarter was not productive for South, they could only muster a single basket.  And as the game went on, they were cold from the foul line - only hitting on 2 foul shots for the game and bricking 6 foul shots in the 4th quarter alone.

Still South staying within striking distance when Whitney White connected on a three point shot late in the fourth quarter.  South was fouling in the last minute and SouthEastern connected when it counted to keep their lead. When the horn blew it was SouthEastern 22 TVS 19 in a closely contested game.  Scoring for TVS: Whitney White 3, Gentry Gates 3, Kara Mackie 4, Timberlynn Donaldson 3, Katie Strazheim 6.