Cherokee 45, Sterling 23

Cherokee is pretty good, yo.

For the second night in a row, I went to a game expecting to focus on one tall girl and came away impressed with another. At least this afternoon, Laura Sweeney had a complete game. 25 points, 9 boards, a few dimes, a couple steals, a couple blocks. I've seen Kate Brennan have a comparably awesome game before, so her stature doesn't really suffer from today's experience, but I now know a bit better what to expect from Cherokee. The whole team made an impression with its defense and ball movement. Everyone in the Chiefs lineup could pass, and most of them were skilled and smart defenders. The Cherokee zone really dictated the game to the point that Sterling hardly got any opportunities to run its half-court offense and maybe get Brennan or Cassi Bryant into some kind of flow.

There were at least a couple of coaches in attendance (Heights and RV stood out) and whoever was there has to come away wary of Cherokee. I think it would be dangerous, however, to conclude that Sterling can't handle full-court pressure. The Knights have girls who can handle the ball and, to some extent, breaking a press is about confidence and experience, two areas Sterling is still lacking at this early moment in the season. This will be a much different team come February, if past history is any guide. The question is if they'll still be in the league hunt when they get it together. Lucky for them, the Colonial doesn't have a team without its own set of doubts and demons.

I haven't draw much ire for the preseason material, which is good I guess. Usually, by the end of the day that the stuff appears in the paper I've gotten at least four or five emails about athletes or teams I've disrespected either by position or omission.

Anyway, here's a link to the RV-Boro game story from today's paper:

www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051217/VARSITY/512170380/1020

And here's the Tasha Cannon feature:

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051217/VARSITY/512170344/1020

And the Preseason Top 20:

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051217/VARSITY/512170326/1023

And 25 or so players to watch:

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051217/VARSITY/512170327/1023

And, finally, the conference outlooks:

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051217/VARSITY/512170328/1023

I'll be down in Ocean City for the big Wilson-Gami game tomorrow afternoon. I'll most likely be hitting Mack and Manco's a couple hours beforehand if anybody has a change of heart and wants to rip me in person.