South girls rise again

January 14, 2009|By CURT HORNBECKER

Initially, Alex Silva had a little trouble remembering the old axiom: "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins games."

But the South Hagerstown junior guard had no trouble at all on the basketball court Tuesday night, scoring 21 points and finishing with a triple-double, as the Rebels trounced Hancock 54-29 for their second win of the season after snapping a 55-game losing streak last week.

And Silva was right. South's pesky defense forced 34 Hancock turnovers and limited the Panthers (2-7) to just 38 field-goal attempts for the game, of which only seven found the bottom of the net. When Hancock managed to gather a rebound, a South player usually was there to challenge it.

"That's the type of intensity I would like our kids to play with," said Panthers coach Rocky Wills. "There are a lot of things about this sport you can coach, but I'm not sure that's one of them."

It was that intensity that helped South (2-8) go on a 26-8 run during which the Panthers hit just one field goal in a 14-minute span.

Meanwhile, South nailed four 3-pointers -- three by Courtney Showe -- and forced 17 turnovers.

"The kids are much more enthusiastic now," said Rebels coach Amy Schmuck. "They stay after practice and work on things. It's nothing but a positive atmosphere."

It was in the first half that Silva did much of her damage, scoring 12 points, and causing havoc at the defensive end of the floor. Silva added six fourth-quarter points, all from the free-throw line. In addition to her 21 points, Silva finished with 13 rebounds, 10 assists and seven steals.

But Silva had plenty of support. Luna Jefferson added 12 points for the Rebels, and Showe finished with 11.

"We're playing with more intensity, and a lot more confidence," said Silva. "We're getting more people to step up now. Everybody is contributing."

Shawnda Wills led Hancock with 10 points, and Hayley Ruppenthal scored six of the Panthers' eight third-period points.

South Hagerstown 54, Hancock 29
HANCOCK (2-7)
Ruppenthal 7, Logsdon 1, Swisher 1, Wills 10, Stigile 6, Leavy 4. Totals 7 14-25 29.
SOUTH HAGERSTOWN (2-8)
Jefferson 12, Silva 21, Freeman 4, Showe 11, Shawyer 2, Forsythe 2, Stahl 2. Totals 18 13-24 54.
Hancock 8 8 8 5 -- 29
South 12 15 16 11 -- 54
3-point goals -- Hancock 1 (Wills), South 5 (Showe 3, Silva). Fouled out -- Logsdon. JV -- Hancock, 31-20 (H: Jenna Hull 12 points; SH: Lauren Fahrney 6 points).

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