Girls basektball: Morgan Twp. holds on to beat Kouts

• Reprints

Updated: March 13, 2012 10:42AM

VALPARAISO — It had been part of Morgan Township coach Kevin Krieger’s mantra all week: start strong and fast.

His Cherokees did that all three games of the Class 1A Washington Township Sectional. And there was no better example than the clinic Morgan put on Saturday in a 49-39 victory over Kouts in the title game, capturing its first sectional title since 2006.

The Cherokees (13-10) jumped all over a stunned Fillies team and led 28-10 at halftime before withstanding a second-half Kouts rally.

“We couldn’t have played any better in that first half,” Krieger said. “We played defense, rebounded, hit shots, limited turnovers.”

Morgan plays Oregon-Davis (20-4) in the first semifinal of next Saturday’s Class 1A Caston Regional.

Led by sophomore guard Trina Coleman, Morgan came out on fire. Coleman had 14 first-half points on her way to a game-high 22. Kouts, meanwhile, shot just 4-of-20 from the field in the first half and committed 12 turnovers.

“The first half, we didn’t show up,” Fillies coach Ron Kobza said. “You can’t play a half like that. Give Morgan credit, they played great defense.”

Kouts (14-9) didn’t quit, mounting a fierce second-half rally, cutting the deficit to eight by the end of the third quarter. The Fillies pulled to within three with 1:49 to play, but Morgan hit 6-of-7 free throws down the stretch to seal it.

“Coach told us that at some point they were going to make a run,” said junior Courtney Osby, who scored nine of her 15 in the second half. “We just had to be poised.”

The Cherokees have won nine of their last 11 games after starting the season 3-7 and avenged a 17-point loss to Kouts on Dec. 10.

“The girls never gave up,” Krieger said.