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Lady Pats earn trip to nationals
Andrea Barbour, (15), scored a game-high 29 points to lead Patrick Henry Community College to a District I Tournament title on Saturday. (Photo by Kenny Webster)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
By JOHNNY BUCK - Bulletin Sports Editor
Throughout this undefeated season, Patrick Henry Community College’s Andrea Barbour has stepped up during the game’s biggest moments.
On Saturday, she stepped up again, only this time her performance came against the nation’s 10th-ranked team in the season’s biggest game.
Barbour scored a game-high 29 points to lead No. 8 PHCC to an 88-81 win over Harcum College in the District I Tournament at Stone Hall. The win kept the Lady Patriots’ record unblemished at 21-0, but more importantly, it secured the team a berth in the national tournament that will be held two weeks from now in Peoria, Ill.
“When she decides that she wants to get to the rack and score, there’s nobody that can stop her. There’s no one-on-one player. Even a double team, she’s gonna split that, as she showed today,” said PHCC coach Tony Jones of Barbour. “She’s just the best female player in the country, in my opinion.”
Kendra Allen hit four 3-pointers on the way to 21 points, and Tareka Cesar added 14 as the Lady Pats controlled the boards and continued to impress during their inaugural season as members of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
“I’m just so elated for these young girls right now. I mean, it’s amazing to me. In our first year, we’ve won three championships so far: We’ve won the regular season championship, the regional tournament championship and the super district championship,” said Jones. “I mean, what can I say? We’re 21-0, and these young ladies refuse to lose.”
Leading 41-35 at the half, Barbour took control of the contest in the opening minutes of the second stanza, scoring five of her team’s first seven baskets.
The VCU signee began the onslaught with an offensive rebound and putback, then drove hard from the left wing, hanging in the air just long enough to get a contested shot to fall. After another offensive rebound led to a score, she drove to the basket for a double-clutch bucket.
When her defender played off on the next trip down court, Barbour showed a nifty crossover before pulling up for a 16-footer that didn’t touch the rim on its way through the net.
That jumpshot gave PHCC a 53-39 lead, which the team used as much-needed cushion to repel a furious Harcum rally down the stretch.
“In the first half, I kept shooting jumpers, so in the second half, I was like, ‘Just go to the rack. Just go to the rack,’” explained Barbour. “So I just went to the rack, stopped shooting jumpers. I stopped settling for jumpers and went to the rack.”
That change in mindset was pivotal in the game’s outcome, according to Harcum coach Sheiia DiNardo.
“She’s definitely strong going to the basket, and we either needed to foul her harder — because we were fouling her, and she was even getting and-1s,” said DiNardo of Barbour. “She definitely was the game changer.”
The game wasn’t over, however, despite the Lady Pats’ 21-point lead (66-45) with roughly 11 minutes remaining in the game.
Led by Sironda Chambers’ 25 points and the identical-twin duo of Ana and Carmen Cruz, two of the fastest women’s basketball players in the NJCAA, the Lady Bears began to sink open 3s and get to the free-throw line with regularity.
RoseMary Vaugh’s deep trey from the left wing got Harcum within four points of the lead with 18.2 seconds remaining, but Barbour, Allen and Evany Dickerson combined to hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to hold off the Bears.
Jones labeled his team’s performance from start to finish as “tremendous, because in this type of game where you’ve got two of the country’s top-10 teams going at each other, every rebound, the loose balls, the turnovers, those are going to be the key,” he explained. “And we got offensive rebounds down the stretch, we got defensive rebounds down the stretch, and we made our free throws. And that was the key to winning the game.”
Ana Cruz finished with 17 points, while sister Carmen Cruz had 12.
Jasmine Alston scored seven for PHCC, Precious Mayberry had six and Tashea Plummer added five.
The Lady Patriots are one of just 16 schools invited to the national tournament. That event will be held at Illinois Central College. PHCC’s first game is scheduled for March 17 against an opponent still to be determined.
Four more wins would give PHCC a national title. As ludicrous as that might have sounded a few months ago, when the Lady Pats were preparing to play their first NJCAA game, it’s a legitimate possibility now.
“They’ve worked hard, and now their next goal is to win a national championship,” Jones said of his team, “and who am I to doubt them at this point?
Patrick Henry 88
Harcum Col. 81
PHCC 41 47 — 88
HC 35 46 — 81
PHCC (21-0) — A. Barbour 12 5-10 29; K. Allen 4 (3) 4-7 21; T. Cesar 4 (2) 0-0 14; J. Alston 3 1-2 7; P. Mayberry (2) 0-0 6; T. Plummer 1 3-4 5; E. Dickerson 0 2-2 2; A. Hauser 0 2-2 2. Totals: 24 (7) 17-27.
HC (29-2) — S. Chambers 7 11-14 25; A. Cruz 2 (1) 10-12 17; C. Cruz (4) 0-0 12; C. Mingo 2 3-5 7; K. Perry 1 (1) 0-0 5; R. Vaugh 1 (1) 0-0 5. Totals: 16 (7) 28-35 81.
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