Lady Redbirds fall to Herrin at MWC

January 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

The West Frankfort Lady Redbirds had obviously set their goal to battle Herrin in the opener of the 2013 Mid-Winter Classic. And, they met that goal. However, their horn to horn effort fell just short as Herrin scored a 46-34 win that did not belie how close the game was for much of the contest. After one quarter, Herrin led the Lady Redbirds 12-10. The lead was 21-15 by intermission.

In the second half the Redbirds lost ground in the third quarter as they could not get their shots to fall, outscored in quarter three 13-4. But, in the final stanza, Matt Hampleman’s team made a comeback run out-pointing the Lady Tigers 15-12.

West Frankfort was led by the 11 points of Calvert, Wilce had 9, Stewart 6, Sailiez,4 Summers 2, melvin 2 and Williams 2 points.

This was the opening game for both teams in the tournament. Both teams are off until Tuesday night as Monday’s games are on the boys side of the tournament.

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Massac County defeats Lady Redbirds

January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

A slight second half advantage propelled the Massac County Lady Patriots to a 45-35 win over the visiting West Frankfort Lady Redbirds Tuesday night.

A 2-point halftime advantage was lengthened by 4 points in each the third and fourth quarters to give the Lady Patriots home team the Ohio Division win.

Scoring for the Redbirds Kiarha Wilce had 21 points for the bulk of the Redbird total, Calvert,Williams and Summers had 4 each in the loss.

Massac County was led by Bailey’s 14 points.

Much of the game was decided from behind the arc, with the Redbirds hitting 4 of the 3 point shots, and Massac County answering with 9.

At intermission, Matt Hampleman’s team trailed 21-19.  Massac outscored the ‘Birds 9-5 in the third quarter and 15-11 in the fourth to pull out a narrow conference win.

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Lady Redbirds crushed at Eldorado

January 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

A new page may have been torn from the calendar, but West Frankfort Lady Redbird coach Matt Hampleman found the same major problem carrying over from 2012 into the new year: no offense. A 22-2 first quarter lifted the hst Eldorado Lady Eagles to a 57-16 win, Saturday afternoon.

The Redbirds could make up no ground in the other quarters as well,outscored:12-1, 12-7, and 11-6.

Individual scoring for West Frankfort saw Wilce lead the way with 13 points.

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Lady Redbirds to play 2013 calendar opener Saturday

January 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

A reminder, the West Frankfort Lady Redbirds will open the 2013 portion of their schedule this afternoon. Matt Hampleman’s Lady Birds will try to improve on 2012 as they head to Eldorado.

Tip-off at Duff-Kingston Gymnasium is set for 1 p.m. this afternoon against their Black Diamond Conference foe. Ohio Division play resumes for the girls Tuesday, at Massac County.

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Harrisburg defeats Lady Redbirds

December 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

The Harrisburg Lady Bulldogs had a strategy best suited for a long distance race: get the big lead early and hold on. The Lady Bulldogs beat the West Frankfort Lady Redbirds 69-32 Tuesday night in Harrisburg.

The game was an Ohio Division conference match-up. Fueled by a 20-6 lead in the first quarter, Harrisburg outscored the Redbirds in every quarter thereafter. Only in the third quarter did the Redbirds virtually hold their own, outscored by just 4 points. However, by that time it was too little too late.

Scoring leader for Matt Hampleman’s club went to Jacklyn Calvert  with 13 points.Other scorers included: Wilce 8, Cunningham 5, and 2 each for Melvin, Sailiez, and Jones.

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Late basket lifts Lady Redbirds

December 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

A late basket by senior Rebecca Cunningham lifted the West Frankfort Lady Redbirds to a thrilling 28-27 win over visiting Anna-Jonesboro on Thursday night.

The Lady Redbirds had built an early 7-2 lead, and it was their largest of the game. In the second half, it also looked like the ‘Birds would pull away after building a 4-point lead. However, a determined Lady Wildcat team kept cutting those leads. After trailing initially, Anna-Jonesboro held a 15-13 lead at the half. and, indicative of the flow of this game, the Lady Redbirds had grabbed off a 23-21 lead going into the fourth quarter.

AJ took a one point lead after a dramatic three-point shot by Kaitie Grant with 5:16 to play. The Redbirds tied the game with a free throw at the 4:48 mark left. The game stayed tied at 26 apiece until Grant hit a free throw to give the visitors the one point lead with :53 seconds to go.
Both teams could not find the range, and both teams committed mistakes as the clock wound down. With just :13 seconds remaining Rebecca Cunningham fired a little jump shot in the lane to give the Redbirds a 28-27 lead. Anna-Jonesboro had a chance down the stretch but missed a key free throw, as did the Redbirds. A final shot hit the rim that could have won the game for the Wildcats.
West Frankfort Coach Matt Hampleman was happy with the win, but still admitted there were a lot of things to work on.
“We ran the sets we wanted to run, but couldn’t finish it off,” he said.
One of the areas needing work was free-throw shooting where the Redbirds were 5 of 12, or 42 percent, from the line. The Redbirds were also plagued by turnovers.
Coach Hampleman pointed out that the Birds are somewhat young, at times with three freshmen on the floor.  But, Hampleman put it into perspective, saying,  “Any win is a good win in front of our fans.”
Scoring for the Redbirds included Kiarha Wilce 10, Rebecca Cunningham with 8,Lindsey Williams 5,Jacklynn Calvert 4 and Hanna Melvin 1.
The game also marked the return of Jordan Crowder. However, it was short lived on Thursday as she was re-injured in the contest.
With the win, the Lady Redbirds are 3-7 and will host Johnston City on Saturday.
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