By Ted Waddell
ELDRED — The Lady Lions of Chapel Field roared past the host Eldred Lady Yellowjackets, 56-30, in Wednesday night’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI basketball game.
The Lady Lions outpaced Eldred in every quarter: 13-6, 18-8, 15-9 and 10-7.
With Chapel Field (9-1, 3-0 Division VI) holding a big lead, both coaches sent in the substitutes in the final period.
The Lady Lions led 31-14 at halftime.
Double-digit scorers for Chapel Field were Katie Oskum and Grace Hodges. Oskum made five 3-point shots on the evening and finished with a game-high 19 points, while Hodges netted 15 points.
Senior guard Stephanie Berger led the Lady Yellowjackets offensive attack with 12 points.
Stats from the free throw line: Chapel Field was 2-of-17 (12 percent), Eldred was 2-of-4 (50 percent).
“Eldred is a little light this year, they don’t have the team they’ve had in the past,” said Sal Patane, coach of the Lady Lions.
“Frank’s kids always play tough,” added Patane, referring to Eldred Coach Frank Kean.
Patane said that based on the overall physical strength of his hoopsters, “Eventually the other team is going to get tired.”
Patane added that it’s just fine with him to win on a fast break – as long as you don’t rush your shots.
“There’s a difference between running a fast break and rushing our shots,” he said.
Patane’s take on going just 2-for-17 at the free-throw line?
“That isn’t going to cut it,” he said. “If we’re in a dogfight, we can’t afford to miss that many.”
Kean, who is the longtime coach of the Lady Yellowjackets, credited Gabby Westfall with snatching 15 rebounds, but added, “We didn’t get enough action out of her tonight.
“I think we were intimidated a little bit at the beginning [but] overall, we played a lot better than we did against The Family School,” he said.
Kean was talking about the OCIAA Division VI game on January 12 when Eldred (1-9, 0-3 Division VI) lost to the Lady Falcons of The Family Foundation School, 45-28.
“They took us out of our game plan real fast, and they ran their fast break real well,” Kean said of the Chapel Field Lady Lions.
The veteran coach is a guy who always sees the silver lining in a dark cloud, no matter how stormy the weather.
“I was impressed with the way Gabby [Westfall] played the boards and the way Stephanie [Berger] finally went to the basket,” Kean said.
“Stephanie can shoot and dribble, and Gabby can rebound and shoot,” he added.
Kean’s take on the Lady Yellowjackets?
“Right now, the other three girls are just out there, and we’re trying to find the [right] combination,” he said.