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Girls Basketball: Mustangs Secure 'Ugly Win' In Upset

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By LEE DIEKEMPER

Tribune correspondent

Published: January 21, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Give Mitchell coach Jacob Tavo credit: Not only does he have incredibly high standards, he has his team believing the same philosophy.

His Mustangs just played one of their better games, upsetting Wiregrass Ranch, 52-44, often using some clever offensive plays and usually with good passing. Still, Tavo said with a straight face his team didn't play up to his expectations.

"It was an ugly win," Tavo said. "No, we didn't get into a rhythm. The girls are still in a funk. Not sure if they are emotionally drained or what. They are in a funk. So long as they are ready to play when the district tournament starts, that's our goal."

If the Mustangs (12-6) couldn't get into a rhythm, then the Bulls (19-3) certainly weren't. Thanks largely to Mitchell's inside defense, Wiregrass Ranch went ice cold in the fourth quarter, often with multiple chances each possession.

"Mitchell is very physical and strong. I knew that would be the case," Wiregrass coach Greg Finkel said. "Unfortunately at the end we weren't able to get what we needed to get. The job obviously didn't get done. We were missing easy shots."

Mitchell outscored Wiregrass Ranch 18-12 in the fourth and the Bulls didn't record their first field goal of the final quarter until nearly five minutes had expired. It came when Julie Gould stole a pass, scored on layup and was fouled, later completing the three-point play to pull within 44-38.

Prior to the fourth quarter the game had been tight, but Mitchell began to create a cushion late in the third when Lyndsey Smith's layup gave the Mustangs a 34-27 lead with 44 seconds left.

Mitchell let Wiregrass off the hook when, after a three-point basket by Kelly McCaffrey with the final seconds of the third ticking off, Jasmine Reid-Chacon grabbed a loose ball, hurdled a fallen teammate at midcourt and scored on a layup at the buzzer to cut Mitchell's lead to 34-32.

Wiregrass never seemed to be able to recover from an 8-1 run by Mitchell to open the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws by Bulls guard Lauren Gould narrowed the gap to 46-42 with 1:17 left, but that was as close as Wiregrass would come.

"We could have played better," Mitchell guard Latrel Kirkland said. "We are used to playing better. We should have been rebounding better and boxing out more. Even though we played badly, we stuck it out. I still can't believe we won. I don't believe we deserved that one."

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