February 14, 2008
Alamo Girls Edge Beatty

Photo by Dave Maxwell Mary Higbee eyes a shot over Autumn Spicer of Beatty

By Dave Maxwell, Staff Writer

Jadey Jones, a senior who has been bothered by a hyper extended knee the past couple of weeks, did not play, but Alamo still managed to squeak by Beatty 45-39 February 12, in the first round of the girls’ 1A Southern Regional tournament. Panther Coach Amy Huntsman said Jadey hasn’t practiced a lot and “there’s no point to risk anything.”

Alamo struggled with Beatty’s zone throughout the game, “mainly because we didn’t rebound well, and we played really safe, real tentative.” Huntsman said. “We weren’t aggressive and did not attack the zone. If we had been more aggressive and attacked it like we know how to do, it shouldn’t have been an issue for us.”

PVHS (22-5) had to use a 22-10 second quarter to take the lead away from Beatty, but then had to use all their talent to keep from being stung by the Hornets, especially when Beatty managed to close within three points mid-way through the fourth quarter.

While the Hornets employed a zone defense and were a bit taller, Beatty Coach Amy Senior said they were constantly bothered by Alamo’s man-to-man defense. “We have a tough time against man-to-man.” In addition, the Panthers collapsing defense caused Beatty (12-12) to miss many inside shots, and snatched the rebound. “They put the right defense on us,” she said.

Leading scorer for Alamo was Mary Higbee with 16 points. K. Ulrich scored 11 points for Beatty and Jennifer Porte had 10.

Alamo next plays the winner of the game between Calvary and Round Mountain in the Regional semi-finals this Friday at 6:20 pm at Durango High School in Las Vegas.