West Side extends streak vs. Gary schools
By Candace Buckner Post-Tribune correspondent January 24, 2012 11:10PM
West Side's Lexus Fox goes to the basket with Roosevelt's Tomisha Lee trailing in the first quarter at Roosevelt High School Tuesday evening. | Jeffrey D. Nicholls~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 26, 2012 8:14AM
GARY — The streak lives on.
West Side’s girls basketball team has not lost to a Gary school since 1994 — a statistic that coach Rod Fisher could boast about after Tuesday night’s 58-51 win over Roosevelt.
The Class 4A Cougars led wire to wire against Roosevelt, a 3A team, with balanced scoring from freshman Tinon Hunter (14 points and 14 rebounds), junior Lexus Fox (11 points) and freshman Ashley Danzy (10 points).
“It’s just a matter of pride,” Fisher said. “That’s what I told them — it’s a pride thing.”
Four different Cougars players scored in the first quarter while Roosevelt constantly played catch-up as it depended on seniors Kelly Moten and Takita Lenoir, who scored all but nine of their team’s points.
By the second quarter, West Side needed to sub in bench players as three starters landed in foul trouble. Against the reserves, Roosevelt chopped into the nine-point deficit as Moten attacked the hole on consecutive possessions and each time, missed the driving layup but snatched the offensive rebound that led to points.
With less than four minutes remaining in the half, Lenoir stole the ball and, although she waited a few beats to look up, she passed ahead to Moten who made the fast break layup as West Side freshman Amari Ferguson fouled her and at halftime West Side only led 35-30.
Cold shooting marked the start of the second half as both teams struggled to convert easy layups. The squads shared four point-blank misses before West Side junior Mariah Hopkins tore the lid of the basket with a layup at the 6:41 mark.
Although more than two minutes passed before West Side got its next field goal, Roosevelt fared even worse. The Panthers did not score until the 3:18 mark and finished the third quarter with just three points.
“We came out lethargic and basically, they outhustled us,” said Roosevelt coach Ron Swain, whose team also missed senior Chantele McDonald who was waiting to receive her academic clearance. “They had to play without her and it really took a toll.”
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