BY GREG MENGELT
CHARLESTOWN — Charlestown’s sixth-grade girls’ basketball team outscored River Valley in three of four quarters, but the Steamers outscored the hosts 8-3 in the third quarter and won 23-21 to capture the 2009 Clark-Floyd County tournament championship.
River Valley center Veronica Ratliff had six points and 11 rebounds in the third quarter. All six of her points came on offensive-rebound putbacks.
“Veronica was the difference,” Steamer head coach Chad Gilbert said. “She hit some big layups down the stretch. We got some good second-chance looks on them.”
“Those big girls went to war down there,” Charlestown coach Tony Hall said of Ratliff, who finished with six points and 15 rebounds, and Cashara Bell, who added seven boards. “We didn’t do a good job of getting a body on them. They worked harder than we did when it came to getting those rebounds.”
River Valley led just 16-15 after a Morgan Crider offensive-putback bucket just seconds into the final period. But River Valley responded with a free throw by Shondea Henry and a 15-foot jumper in the lane from Hayley Lacy for a 19-15 advantage, the Steamers’ biggest of the contest.
After Lexi Logsdon went 1-for-2 from the line, a Henry steal and basket and a Ratliff rebound basket gave River Valley an insurmountable 23-16 lead.
“We’re excited about this,” Gilbert said of River Valley’s fourth Clark-Floyd championship in five years.
Charlestown trailed just 14-13 when leading scorer Bethany Hall fouled out with 25.2 seconds left in the third period.
“That’s the first time all year we’ve had a player foul out,” Hall recalled. “When girls, at this age, are used to playing with each other and you have a little turmoil, it’s hard for them to adjust. It was like they were looking for somebody who wasn’t there after she fouled out.”
Charlestown led 10-8 at the half with a balanced scoring attack. Suzanne Fielding scored four early points and Logsdon, Megan Crawford and Bethany Hall all added first-half baskets.
“Our girls didn’t quit,” Gilbert said. “They could have gotten down, but they kept their composure and I was really proud of them.”
The Pirates led 11-10 early in the third quarter until two straight Ratliff putbacks.
“You have to give Charlestown a lot of credit,” Gilbert said of Charlestown, which had beaten River Valley in an earlier matchup this season. “Those kids play hard and Coach Hall does a nice job of having them in the right positions.”
Lacy was the Steamers’ co-leader with eight points, including five in the first quarter. She also had two rebounds and two steals. Henry scored seven points and had six steals.
Logsdon had a team-high six points, including the game’s only successful 3-point field goal. Fielding added five, and Crawford and Hall had four apiece for Charlestown.
RIVER VALLEY 5 3 8 7—23
CHARLESTOWN 6 4 3 8—21
River Valley — Lacy 8, Ratliff 8, Henry 7.
Charlestown — Logsdon 6, Fielding 5, Crawford 4, Hall 4, Crider 2.
