Madonna too much for Cameron

WEIRTON - Madonna's Lady Blue Dons jumped on visiting Cameron early and cruised to a convincing 66-44 victory in Region One, Section One Class A action Tuesday.

The triumph sends Don Ogden's 17-6 club into Friday's sectional final against top-seeded Wheeling Central. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at John Marshall High School.

Tuesday's contest inside the Bill Barrett Gymnasium was tied at two before the hosts rattled off 14 consecutive points. Madonna, the tournament's second seed, held a 21-5 advantage after the opening stanza and never looked back.

Senior Lisa Parkins sparked the early scoring spurt, accounting for six of the 14. Senior Isabella Anile and junior Amy Davis combined for 11 of Madonna's first quarter point total.

"I don't think they missed a shot in that first quarter," Cameron's Joe Pettit said. "They made their shots and we didn't."

Madonna did sink four of its first seven field goal tries. In addition, the Dons swished nine of 10 from the line during the initial eight minutes.

The Blue Dons outscored the Lady Dragons 15-10 during the second period and held a 36-15 lead at the intermission. Cameron opened the third period with a 6-0 scoring run, Tara Paczewski scoring five, but Parkins put a halt to that threat when she buried a triple from the corner.

"We just couldn't get any momentum," Pettit continued. "We played pretty good defense and contested their shots, but they just kept making them. And Anile is just a fabulous player."

The Blue Don point guard took game scoring honors with 18. She was a perfect 10 for 10 from the stripe. She also dished out six assists.

Davis recorded a double-double, scoring 17 points and pulling down 15 of her team's 40 rebounds. Parkins had 13 and junior Nicollette Sellitti 10.

"She (Davis) really came up big for us tonight," Ogden noted. "She had a great game on the boards. In the second quarter, it seemed like she was getting every rebound. She also defended well. We had her matched up on t! heir pos t player and she really came through."

Senior Sara Lyons contributed seven points, six rebounds and rejected six Cameron shots.

"I thought in the first quarter, we played sound defense (the Dons held Cameron to a two of 15 shooting performance)," Ogden said. "That really got us started. We got a little undisciplined in the second quarter. Our emphasis at halftime was to get a good defensive start (after scoring a quick six, Madonna limited the visitors to just four markets).

"We're playing some younger kids and we, the staff and our seniors, have to be patient with their progression."

Madonna finished with 20 field goals and was a stellar 23 for 29 from the line. The Dragons hit 16 from the floor and seven of nine at the stripe.

Paczewski and Neely Benline scored 12 each to pace Cameron, which drops the curtain at 12-12. Taylor Whipkey collected 10 rebounds.

"We're a very young team with just three seniors," Pettit observed. "I think we had a great year. Our seniors (Paczewski, Whipkey and Lindsay Siburt) led by example. Our senior leadership throughout the year was huge. Everyone should be blessed to have a senior class like I had this season."

Madonna 66, Cameron 44

Cameron 5 10 16 13 - 44

Madonna 21 15 17 13 - 66

CAMERON (12-12): Paczewski 4 1-2 12; McDowell 0 0-0 0; Whipkey 1 3-4 5; Siburt 2 1-2 7; Benline 5 2-3 12; Higginson 0 0-0 0; Gouldsberry 0 0-0 0; Stern 4 0-0 8; Reid 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 26 7-9 44. 3-pointers: Paczewski (3), Siburt (2).

MADONNA (17-6): Parkins 4 4-4 13; Sellitti 4 0-1 10; Anile 4 10-10 18; Davis 5 7-10 17; Lyons 3 1-2 7; R. Grubbs 0 1-2 1; Dowiak 0 0-1 0; L. Grubbs 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 22-29 66. 3-pointers: Sellitti (2), Parkins.