“Parent Night” gives the Italy players and Gladiator fans a chance to honor the parents and grandparents who do so much behind the scenes for the athletes. Also, Lady Gladiator Megan Richards celebrated her 16th birthday with her teammates Friday as well.

Oh, and by the way, there were still three basketball games to play. The JV Lady Gladiators were matched against the Itasca JV while the Italy High School varsity teams did battle with Grand Prairie Advantage.

Gladiators:
The Italy Gladiators (22-3/7-0) defeated the Grand Prairie Advantage Eagles by 46 points Friday night in the dome. Italy outscored Advantage 18-4 in the 1st period.

Italy jumped out to a 7-0 lead before the Eagles made it 7-2. Jasenio Anderson then passed inside to De’Andre Sephus who scored to make the game 9-2. Sephus went on to score 13 of his 15 points in the first half.

Italy continued to roll with multiple players contributing to the onslaught. With just under 5:00 left in the 1st half, J. Anderson stole an Eagle pass and then charged up court to deliver a nifty wraparound pass to John Isaac to make the score 25-7. With Aaron Thomas on his way to scoring 13-points for the night, Italy’s offense scored 25-points in the 2nd while their defense held the Eagles to just 7-points.

By the end of the first half Italy was up 43-11 and the game was all but over for Grand Prairie Advantage. To their credit, the Eagles kept working hard but Italy is just too strong. J. Anderson, Desmond Anderson, Heath Clemons and John Isaac are the muscle but De’Andre Sephus, Colton Campbell, Jase Holden, Larry Mayberry, Dan Crownover, Ryan Ashcraft, Aaron Thomas and Oscar Gonzalez help give the Gladiator roster depth.

Continuing to dominate throughout the 3rd quarter, D. Anderson swished a 3-pointer to give Italy a 60-18 lead, with 0:30 left, to puncuate the quarter. With 5:00 left in the 4th, D. Anderson drilled his second 3-pointer to give Italy a 70-25 lead. “Dez” as his teammates call him, is more known for his defensive prowess but the aerial display by D. Anderson is a good example of how interchangeable the players are for head coach Kyle Holley.

Italy went on to win the game against Grand Prairie Advantage 76-30 leaving them with three district games still to play. Good luck to the Gladiators as they attempt to finish district with a perfect 10-0 record and claim the District Championship.

Gladiator scoring:

Lady Gladiators:
The Lady Gladiators (16-11) sent the Grand Prairie Advantage Lady Eagles home with a district loss Friday night. Italy started off with a 10-0 lead. Then a Megan Richards behind the back pass from her knees to Kaitlyn Rossa, who passed ahead to Alyssa Richards for the layup, made the score 12-0.

Megan Richards, who was celebrating her 16th birthday this weekend, knocked down a sweet looking 3-pointer, a few steps beyond the top of the key, to cap off a 17-0 Lady Gladiator run. Grand Prairie Advantage finally scored at the 1:10 mark as Italy enjoyed a comfortable 17-2 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

Another M. Richards 3-pointer from the birthday girl gave Italy a 20-3 lead. A basket by Jaleecia Fleming and 4-points from Jimesha Reed kept Italy well in front 26-11. Reed left her stamp on the 1st half by temporarily turning the birthday celebration into a “block” party as she denied Itasca any extra points before halftime.

Up 28-11 in the 3rd, A. Richards swished a jumper from the right elbow to make the score 30-11. Kyonne Birdsong then drove the baseline and pulled up to hit a 10 foot jump shot, 32-11 Italy with 2:35 left. At the 1:22 mark, A pass from M. Richards to Rossa pushed Italy’s lead to 36-11 as the game moved into the final quarter.

In the 4th, a Fleming free throw made the game 39-17. Rossa pulled up on the fast break and nailed a jump shot to make the score 43-18. Rossa scored 4 of her 6-points in the 4th, Copeland and A. Richards both hit a basket and Fleming added 2 more points as Italy discarded of the Lady Eagles 47-18.

The birthday girl, Megan Richards, certainly enjoys playing on her birthday. Megan scored 11-points last season on her special day and scored in all four quarters against the Lady Eagles on Friday to finish the game with 10-points. Happy Birthday, Megan!

Lady Gladiator scoring:

JV Lady Gladiators:
Itasca’s JV girls had the early lead 2-0 but a Danyelle Baugher jumpshot beyond the left elbow tied the game 2-2, 2:21 left in the 1st quarter. Itasca was up 4-2 when Baugher left a bounce pass for Shelbi Gilley who tracked it, hit the bank shot and drew the and-1 to complete the fast break and tie the game again 4-4.

Gilley’s free throw was on the money and Italy JV girls held a 5-4 lead at the end of the 1st.

A Brianna Burkhalter free throw made the score 6-4 in the 2nd quarter. With the score 6-5, Burkhalter returned to the line and put in 1-of-2. Itasca called a timeout with 3:51 left in the half and trailing 7-5. At the 2:08 mark, Chante Birdsong increased Italy’s lead 9-5 but Itasca fired back.

Itasca pulled within 1-point, 9-8, putting pressure on Italy’s Coach Tina Richards who’s calm demeanor was reflected by her girls as they stuck to the game plan. Lupita Luna would add one more free throw to keep Italy in front heading into the break 10-8.

Italy’s Chante Birdsong took over in the 3rd quarter scoring all 5 of the JV lady Gladiators’ points. Itasca managed to keep pace, however, the game remained in doubt with the score 15-12 going into the final quarter.

Italy went up 18-12 but an Itasca 3-pointer, at the 3:30 mark, kept the Lady Wampus Cats within reach, 18-15. Moments later, Birdsong charged down court but her shot didn’t drop. Fortunately, Burkhalter was trailing the play and rebounded the miss and put it back up. This time, the ball dropped in to give Italy a 20-15 separation.

Burkhalter scored 4-points in the 4th, Birdsong was good for 2, Baugher and Davis added both added 1 free throw each as Italy’s JV girls finish the 2010 season with a win over Itasca, 23-17.

JV Lady Gladiator scoring:

Italy will travel to play Dallas Faith Family on Tuesday. The Lady Gladiators tip-off their final district game at 6:00 p.m. and then the Gladiators will follow at 7:30 p.m.