Class A: South Walton 54, Villages 30
Tue. February 19, 2013 at 1:27 p.m. | By Aimee Sachs
South Walton's Mackenzie Perot (15) goes up for a basket as The Villages' Abby Followell (10) and Monica Couture (34) defend. (Photo by Michael Wilson | The Ledger)
By AIMEE SACHS | THE LEDGER
LAKELAND | By the time the Villages’ leading scorer Asia Marion fouled out with 8.7 seconds left in the third quarter, the game was all but over.
South Walton capitalized on a 16-3 run in the second quarter to blow the game open en route to a 54-30 win in the Class 1A state semifinals Tuesday at The Lakeland Center.
“I thought it was extremely physical,” South Walton coach Kevin Craig said of a contest in which the Seahawks forced 31 turnovers and dominated the offensive boards.
“You can’t win with that many turnovers, and it is very frustrating considering the last couple of games we’ve cut our turnovers for us very low,” Villages coach Rick Corley said after the game.
Eve Heffron led the Seahawks with 11 points and nine rebounds, Katie Trejo had nine points and the sister duo of Casey and Mackenzie Perot combines for 15 points and 12 rebounds.
South Walton practiced at the University of South Florida on Monday in preparation of playing on the big stage, as well as defending Marion, the Buffalos’ leading scorer who set the all-time scoring record at the Villages when she surpassed 1,450 points.
“We manned her early, but we really just tried to limit how many times she caught the ball,” Craig said. “She’s so physical. She finishes so well. But I just think she got worn out. We tried to deny her the ball at high post.”
Trailing 11-10 after the first quarter, South Walton exploded in the second quarter, going on a 16-1 run and holding the Buffalos without a field goal until Marion’s jumper at the buzzer. Marion was in foul trouble early on.
“Her getting in foul trouble really hurt them,” Craig said.
Marion was clearly frustrated, but fouled out with a game-high 12 points and seven rebounds at the end of the third quarter. The Buffalos could not recover without her presence on the floor. From their size disadvantage to their lack of experience, the game was a struggle for the Villages, who made their first ever trip to the state finals.
“I think a lot of that attributes to nervousness and not being here before,” Corley said. “We weren’t able to get ourselves in synch. And that hurt us, and naturally when you give a team two or three shots on the offensive boards, unless they’re a super bad team, it’s going to hurt you. And this team was not a bad team, or they wouldn’t have been in the final four.”
Villages senior guard Shelby Manns finished her high school career with six points and seven rebounds.
“We were all kind of amazed to make it this far, so it was a huge achievement, but we didn’t play to the best of our abilities when we came here,” she said.
South Walton will face Chipley for the Class 1A state title at 4:35 p.m. on Wednesday.
SOUTH WALTON (54) – Tayler Menard 1-5 5-8 7, Mackenzie Perot 2-8 2-2 6, Kati Trejo 4-9 1-2 9, Eve Heffron 3-11 5-7 11, Morgan Kennedy 1-4 5-9 7, Katie Logan 1-2 2-24, Ashlyn Sachenbacher 0-0 0-0 0, Meagan McGee 0-0 0-0 0, Savanah Hiers 0-0 1-3 1, Casey Perot 4-8 1-4 7, Francette Warren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-47 22-37 54.
VILLAGES (30) – Asia Marion 4-13 4-6 12, Ricki Batterbee 2-4 0-0 4, McKayla Dunn 1-1 1-1 3, Alexia Character 2-7 1-1 5, Shelby Manns 3-4 0-0 6, Lexi Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Followell 0-2 0-0 0, Danyella Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Haley Talucci 0-1 0-0 0, Amanda Andrews 0-2 0-0 0, Monica Couture 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-35 4-6 30.
3-point field goals: South Walton 0-2 (Menard 0-1, Heffron 0-1); Villages 0-4 (Batterbee 0-1, Character 0-2, Talucci 0-1). Fouled out: Marion. Technicals: V 2 (Followell, Dunn). Rebounds: South Walton 35 (Heffron 9), Villages 30 (Marion 7, Mann 10) Assists: South Walton 7 (Menard 1, Heffron 2, Kennedy 3, C. Perot 1); Villages 5 (Batterbee 1, Manns 4).
South Walton 10 16 14 14 -- 54
Villages 11 3 11 5 -- 30
Records: South Walton 22-6; The Villages 16-5.
