BASKETBALL

PAINTED OVER

David, Bears dominate Broncos in paint

Michael Smith
michael.smith@examiner.net
William Chrisman sophomore forward Jacque David (34) goes up for a shot over Lee's Summit North defender Emma Gooding in Wednesday's game at North. David dominated with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the visiting Bears to a 48-35 win. [David M. Rainey/Special to The Examiner]

The William Chrisman girls basketball team has found success slowing the pace down and letting its forwards go to work in the post.

That was the formula that helped the Bears withstand a big third-quarter run from host Lee’s Summit North and earn a 48-35 victory Wednesday.

Sophomore forward Jacque David was a huge part of that as she dominated in the paint. She scored a game-high 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and notched three steals and a block.

“The way they were playing her tonight, we felt like we could get her the basketball,” Chrisman head coach Scott Schaefer said. “She struggled a little bit when she hurried her shots in the first half. She got better in the second half and we fed her as long as we were able to.”

Added sophomore guard Gia Moore: “(David) is a bucket. We try to get the ball to her every time. She’s what was going to score tonight – not the outside.”

Twenty of her points came on shots in the paint. She showed her versatility by hitting three turnaround shots from the baseline. After William Chrisman took a 20-11 halftime lead, North went on a big run in the third quarter to cut the Bears’ lead to 27-23 going into the final period.

David helped get her team back on track in the fourth when she began the scoring with a bank shot that she released while facing a double-team. That basket sparked an 18-8 Chrisman run to help it put the game away.

“They didn’t double (team) me like we planned it to be, so that really opened down low for me,” David said.

David helped keep the Bears (7-1) afloat in a low-scoring first period. She scored five of the team’s six first-quarter points as Chrisman had a 6-4 edge going into the second.

She scored seven more points in the second and capped a 10-0 run with a basket inside. Jennifer David contributed to the run with a pair of layups off cuts to the basket as the Bears led by nine at halftime.

Chrisman sophomore point guard Amanda Szopinski keyed a 5-0 run to start the third after converting a driving layup and nailing a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 25-11.

The Broncos went on a 12-0 spurt with sophomore guard Lauren Draney accounting for six of those points, including four off steals and fastbreak layups to cut it to 25-23 late in the third. A Jennifer David layup made it 27-23 going into the fourth.

“We played throughout the game,” North assistant coach Sean Donovan said. “We made a great run to make it a two-point ballgame. Then they executed on their end and weathered the storm of our press and our creation offense through our defense. Chrisman played well.”

After a tumultuous third, Chrisman settled down. Moore made a big 3-pointer to make it 32-25 early in the fourth and then sealed the win when she converted a conventional three-point play 3:36 left.

“I was going up and my defender went for the steal, so I crossed it over and there was a wide-open lane to drive,” said Moore, who had six points and five assists.

Added Jacque David: “We slowed it down and got the ball to our posts. We got penetration inside and that spread their defense out. This was another game were the posts were our strength.”

This game was the type Chrisman has thrived on all season, and Schaefer hopes his team can continue that winning formula following a hot start. However, there is some work to do on offense, he said.

“Our defense has been solid and our offense is still a struggle at times,” Schaefer said. “We’re still trying to find our way through that. Our rotation still isn’t set yet. We’re working through lineups and combinations, and we’ll have to get better at that during the break.”

Draney led North (1-6) with 12 points and Anija Frazier chipped in with 10. Szopinski chipped in with six points and six rebounds.