Morgan, Kouts cruise at Washington Twp.

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Updated: March 12, 2012 8:07AM

VALPARAISO — Trina Coleman took a dive after a loose ball headed out of bounds near the scorer’s table Friday night. The Morgan Township sophomore guard landed hard in the bleachers, leaving an audible thud that echoed through the gym.

The entire gym went silent. Until Coleman popped about about two seconds later, looking around as if nothing had happened.

“My adrenaline was pumping, and I just wanted to save the ball,” Coleman said. “I just don’t like to quit.”

Despite the scary moment, Coleman scored a game-high 16 points to lead Morgan to a 44-32 victory over LaCrosse in the semifinals of the Class 1A Washington Township Sectional. Kouts rolled past Covenant Christian 41-23 in the second semifinal, setting up tonight’s 7 p.m. final between the Cherokees and Fillies.

Morgan (12-10) forced LaCrosse into 11 first-quarter turnovers and 34 on the night. The Cherokees built a 12-point first-quarter lead and held off a pesky Tigers (4-16) team that closed to within eight early in the third quarter.

“We preached all week that we had to have fast starts,” Morgan coach Kevin Krieger said. “Both games so far (in the sectional), we’ve done a good job of doing that.”

Courtney Osby added 11 points for the Cherokees. Shelby Rushnock led LaCrosse with nine.

In the nightcap, Kouts (14-8) held Covenant Christian (13-9) to 16 percent (8-of-39) shooting and pulled away in the second half.

The Knights missed their first 10 shots and were 1-of-21 from the field at one point in the first half.

Jenna Jessen scored a game-high 13 points for Kouts and teammate Katie Parks added 12 points. Amy Hamstra, Sarah Lentini and Jennifer Heerema each scored five for the Knights.

“We were somewhat aggressive and tried to mix it up a bit,” Fillies coach Ron Kobza said. “We knew we could pressure that group of girls a bit.”