Gators Succumb to Notre Dame Defense, Fall in Finals

After an evenly matched 13-11 first quarter, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (29-3) turned up the defensive heat, applying full-court man-to-man pressure and limiting the Shipley Gators (22-6, 9-1 FSL) to just 2 points in the second quarter of the PA Independent Schools State Tournament Championship game. The inside presence of Shipley senior forward, Alex King, and sophomore center, Alex Lennon, who normally combine for 25 points per game, were held to just 10 and 4 respectively. Freshman guard, Brianna Ross, led Shipley with 12 points, while senior Ashley Teti paced the Irish with 16.

This game was the last for graduating seniors King (Union College), Brooke Stokes (Bucknell), and Rae Goldstein (Muhlenberg). This year’s 22-6 team, featuring appearances in both the Friends Schools League Championship and the PA Independent Schools State Tournament Championship, stamps a remarkable turnaround for this group that had a 3-17 record their freshman season.

Friday 02/23/07
Girls' Basketball
PA Independent School State Tournament @ Hill School
Shipley - 60
AFS - 52
 
Shipley senior Co-Captain, Alex King, joined the 1000 points basketball scorers club at Shipley as the Gators turned the tables on AFS after last week's loss in the FSL title game, emerging victorious with the 60-52 win.

Shipley (22-5, 10-1 FSL) will adavnce to the Championships of the PA Independent School State Tournament tomorrow to take on local Inter-Ac Power, Notre Dame, at 2:45 pm at Hill School.

Wednesday 2/21/07
Shipley – 57
Friends’ Central – 34

Coming off of two straight losses, and plagued by low shooting percentages and a high rate of turnovers (including a 39-48 loss in the Friends Schools League Final to Abington Friends), Shipley started slowly against the Friends’ Central Phoenix in the PA Independent School State Tournament Quarter-Final, a rematch of last week’s FSL Semi-Final. Missing their first 11 shots of the game and taking only a 25-23 lead into halftime, the Gators shook off their recent rust and outscored the Phoenix 32-11 in the second half, to win the game 57-34.

Shipley (21-5, 9-1 FSL) was led by senior tri-captain, Alex King, who scored 15 points (13 away from 1000 for her career). Matching King’s pace was freshman guard/forward, Brianna Ross, who shot 9-11 from the free throw line en route to a career-high 15 points and added 10 rebounds, 9 on the offensive end, for her first career double-double. Freshman combo guard, Jill Keeney (9 points), reigned in 3 three-pointers and has come on strong recently, nailing 6 of her last 11 three-point attempts. Sophomore center, Alex Lennon, also had a strong second half, scoring 7 points, grabbing 10 boards, and blocking 2 shots.

The Gators will see a repeat of last Friday’s FSL Finals match on Friday, February 24 at Hill School as they take on Abington Friends, Quarter-Final winners over Hill School, in the State Tournament. The Semi-Final is scheduled for 5:45 pm. The winner will play in the Championship, scheduled for Saturday at 2:45 pm; the consolation game will be held at 1:00 pm. Notre Dame, the top seed, is the heavy favorite in the 1st PA Independent School State Tournament.