Lady Leopards win

HAMPTON - With four starters on the floor suffering leg cramps throughout the second half, the Norphlet Lady Leopards fought off their toughest challenge of the season to remain unbeaten and win the 2A South Regional championship Saturday night over Spring Hill 67-54. Norphlet improved to 31-0 on the season. The Lady Bears lost for the first time, falling to 28-1. Junior forward Ashalei Conway pumped in 26 points to go with eight rebounds. Jalisha Willis scored 18 with Anna Bolding, Samantha Marshall and Kalisha Willis contributing nine, eight and six, respectively. Norphlet built a 9-5 lead as it led, nearly, from wire-to-wire. Marshall’s 3-pointer put the Lady Leopards up 18-16 after one quarter. Rachel Nedina, Spring Hill’s junior point guard, kept the Lady Bears step-for-step in the game. Her 3-pointer cut the lead to 26-23. Moments later, she threaded a bounce pass through traffic to Jamie Nance for a layup with 3:30 left in the half. The Lady Leopards answered with free throws by Jalisha Willis before Bolding cranked a 3-pointer as Norphlet led 34-31 at the half. The lead was 38-36 midway in the third before Conway seized control, beating the Lady Bears down the floor for a pair of layups in her own personal 10-3 spurt. Conway’s rebound and putback put Norphlet up 48-39 with 2:22 left in the third, which ended with the Lady Leopards up 50-43. The margin was 52-45 when Spring Hill rallied. Lauren Kidd scored inside. After a free throw by Nedina, Claire McMaster hit a jumper, then pulled up from downtown for a 3-point bomb, giving the Lady Bears a 53-52 lead with 4:12 left in the game. On the ensuing possession, Conway kicked out to Bolding, who answered with a 3-pointer, triggering a 7-0 spurt. Jalisha Willis scored before Conway went baseline for a lefty reverse layup, giving the Lady Leopards control with a 59-53 cushion with 1:50 left to play. Norphlet put the game away with an 8-2 spurt to end the game. Nedina led Spring Hill with 17 points with Kidd adding 14.

School chokes big time

According to an article on ESPN.com, North Dakota has suspended men's basketball play-by-play radio announcer Paul Ralston for two games after he used the phrase "choke job" following an overtime loss to Northern Arizona. The article states, "The Grand Forks Herald reports that Ralston used the words during his interview with coach Brian Jones after the team's 74-72 home loss Saturday. North Dakota led in the final minute of regulation, but Northern Arizona rallied to force overtime and win. North Dakota missed five free throws over the final four minutes of regulation. Athletic director Brian Faison says Ralston will not call the game at Northern Colorado on Wednesday or Saturday's game at Nebraska-Omaha. Associate athletic director Kyle Doperalski will handle the play-by-play duties for those games. Ralston will return to his play-by-play role on Feb. 28 against Portland State." Never mind the irony in a school fighting to preserve the nickname, "Fighting Sioux" being offended by the phrase, "choke job." Forget all that. But, what the hell else do you call it when a team misses five free throws late and loses in overtime? Look up "choke job" in the sports dictionary and there's a picture of a player clanking a free throw down the stretch. I know we're in an overly sensitive society. I watched an old episode of Sanford & Son recently and, no doubt about it, that show would not be on the air today. Words and phrases that were no big deal in the seventies and eighties are now taboo. But, are we really at the point where an announcer can't call it as he sees it? How long before I'm reprimanded for pointing out a high school kid missed a field goal or simply stating that little Johnny struck out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth? I'm not going to use the phrase, "choke job" when I write about high school kids. But college athletes on scholarships are a different matter. And, frankly, gagging in big moments are apart of sports. Sometimes you choke and sometimes you rise to the occasion. It's silly to tell a writer or an announcer that he can point out one but not the other.

Back ... with inspiration

I took a short break from this blog because, quite frankly, I haven't been inspired by much. Manti Te'o's story was more sad than anything. Alabama's dominance was expected. Didn't care for either of the Super Bowl teams and the college basketball season? I'm just not feeling it. Probably the most fired up I've been over sports lately was the football recruiting season. I thought Bret Bielema finished strong for Arkansas. The Alex Collins' "mama drama" is embarrassing on a number of levels but props to the kid for handling it with class. To be honest, I haven't blogged much because I've been busy with my latest book, "Blackport." I'm about thirty-thousand words into it after finally getting into a bit of a flow. And, the area high school basketball season is in its home stretch. The district tournament is this week followed by the regional and state tournaments. The absolute dominance by Norphlet's girls has made the regular season insignificant, unless you were enamored by the battle for second place between Strong and Parkers Chapel. To be honest, I enjoyed the battle for second more than I thought I would. PC and Strong gave me two really good, intense battles and probably saved the season for me. As for the postseason, for me, it's all about the Lady Leopards. Undefeated and untested, Norphlet has a real shot of making a long run in the state tournament. Of course, they were in the same situation last year and flamed out in the first round. They're seniors this year so, I think it'll be different. At least, I hope so. Either way, they have my attention and my interest. Because of them, I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks of basketball. Since this is what I get paid to cover, that's a good thing.