Kimi Carter seized the moment and put the Barbers Hills’ girls qualifying for the 2012 state high school basketball tournament into perspective.
“I picked a great year to be a freshman,” she said. “I can’t imagine anything better.”
Carter and her teammates limited high-scoring and previously unbeaten Beaumont Ozen (34-1) to a season low 39 points and ran away to a 66-39 victory in the Region III-4A championship game at the Campbell Center. Barbers Hill (38-3) dictated the pace and forced Ozen into a half-court game where 6-foot-4 post Kendall Shaw could control the defensive board. Guards Makenzi May, Shannon Evans and Carter were able to handle Ozen’s pressure defense and kept turnovers to a minimum.
The Lady Eagles’ rotating defense also proved to be suffocating for the state’s No. 1 ranked Class 4A school. “We’re known for utilizing ball pressure and I guess they weren’t used to people being up close to them,” Carter said. “Instead of going up to half court where they can cross you up and go in for a layup, we started back at the three-point line. “We actually scouted them a whole bunch so that really helped,” Carter said. “We knew what to do and we came in on a mission and were able to nail our game plan.”
Barbers Hill watched Manvel try to run with Ozen a day earlier in the regional semifinals and the Lady Panthers rolled to a 71-61 victory. The Eagles’ plan was to work the ball around for good shots and spread the Ozen defense using Shaw in the high post.
“Transition defense was the No. 1 thing,” Barbers Hill coach Kit Martin said. “They get a lot of scoring opportunities on long passes following made baskets so we had to make sure we didn’t give that up. “The second thing was handling their press,” Martin said. “Our guards did a fantastic job of passing and moving the ball up the floor. We didn’t let them create offense from their defense.”
The Eagles won three state championships in Class 3A. This is the school’s first trip to the state tournament as a 4A school.
Darrell Ardison
