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February 12, 2010

Trojans stop Joburg

Hines scores 2,000th career point in victory

BY MIKE DUNN

JOHANNESBURG -- After spending the last four minutes of the third quarter on the bench with foul trouble, Central Lake's Jasmine Hines returned to the floor to score 11 points in the fourth quarter and lead the Trojans to a 53-47 victory Thursday at the court of Johannesburg-Lewiston.

The much-anticipated Ski Valley girls basketball rematch drew a packed house to the Cardinals' gym. Johannesburg (15-2, 12-2), the No. 2 ranked Class D team in the state, was hoping to turn the tables on the unbeaten, top-ranked Trojans (18-0, 14-0) and force a tie atop the league standings.

The Cardinals led by five, 40-35, early in the fourth quarter after senior guard Brandi Lester drained a 3-pointer, but they were not able to keep the 6-foot-3 Hines from making her presence felt down the stretch.

Hines, drawing two or three defenders on each possession, finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds. She hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final minutes and was 7 of 9 from the line for the game. She also surpassed 2,000 points for her career, finishing the night with a total of 2,012. The game was stopped briefly at the 5:38 mark of the third quarter to recognize Hines after the junior reached the scoring milestone.

For her part, Hines was much more pleased with her team's victory than any personal achievements, however.

"It feels great," a smiling Hines said between hugs from Trojan fans after the game. "We knew it would be hard to come to their gym and win. We had to play great defense and we had to play smart and we did that."

As for scoring 2,000 points, Hines said she would have preferred to do it at home but getting it on the road against a quality opponent like Johannesburg was nearly as sweet, especially since the Trojans won.

"They're a great team," Hines said of Johannesburg. "We'd love to play them again because that would mean two schools from the north playing in the state finals."

Shortly after Hines surpassed 2,000 points, she picked up her third and fourth fouls and coach Al Becker was forced to bring her out of the game.

The score was tied at 29 when Hines left and it was tied at 35 at the end of the quarter. During a stretch when the Cardinals were looking to take the lead with Hines off the floor, Central Lake guards Heidi Hicks, Sheila Crouse and Tasha Crouse each hit a basket to keep the Trojans from falling behind.

"Our guards came up huge," Becker said. "If we would have let down there with Jasmine out and let them score a couple more baskets, who knows how this would have turned out. But Tasha, Heidi and Sheila all hit big baskets to keep the score tied. This was a true team effort."

Johannesburg-Lewiston coach Heather Huff was pleased with her team's effort but said there were too many missed shots and unforced turnovers to beat a team like Central Lake.

"We definitely had opportunities that we didn't capitalize on," Huff said. "It wasn't for lack of trying. The girls played well. We missed some shots we normally make and made some poor passes. They were very tough on defense and we that may have caused us to rush things a little."

The Cardinals had three possessions in the final 1:11 while trailing 51-47 and couldn't generate any points. Hines was fouled with 14.6 seconds left after grabbing a defensive rebound and clinched the win with a pair of free throws.

"We were going to give them a big dose of Jasmine in the fourth quarter whether she had four fouls or not," Becker said. "She came out and played outstanding."

The coach was also happy that Hines reached the scoring milestone.

"I'm just glad she's on our team," he said with a laugh. "You can't stop her. She's so tough and she works so hard. She deserves everything she gets."

"Hats off to her," Huff said. "She's a very, very good player and I'm really happy for her."

Hicks joined Hines in double figures with 13 points and Sheila Crouse scored seven.

Senior Stephanie Fisher paced the Cardinals with 18 points and Mary Schlicher hit for 12. Lester tallied eight, including two treys.

If Central Lake and Johannesburg play again, it will be in the Class D championship game.

"I told Al before the game let's plan on one more date this year," Huff said.

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