Lady Gladiators take 3rd in Hubbard tournament, Wallis named all-tournament
Italy senior point guard Kendra Copeland(10) sets up the offense against Hubbard. Copeland exited the second-half after breaking a finger and will be missed, hopefully only briefly, as the Lady Gladiators move forward. (Barry Byers)
Hubbard — The Lady Gladiators of Italy did well while participating in their three games in three days adventure during the Hubbard varsity basketball tournament.
After defeating Rappaport easily in the first round on Thursday, the Lady Gladiators had their struggles against the host team Lady Jaguars on Friday. Hubbard lead after one 22-10 and maintained their advantage into the break, 38-12.
With Hubbard scoring so effectively, Italy was unable to muster many fast break points, taking star forward Kortnei Johnson out of the game. Making the mountain even harder to climb in the second-half, was an injury suffered by senior point guard Kendra Copeland who broke a finger on her non shooting hand. The Lady Jags remained in control carrying a 42-18 lead into the final period.
Despite their best efforts, the Lady Gladiators just could not match Hubbard’s intensity and the home team got the win, 51-26.
To their credit, head coach Melissa Fullmer, assistant coach Tina Richards and the Lady Gladiators rebounded on Saturday against Bosqueville. Junior point guard Tara Wallis shouldered the load to help jumpstart Italy’s offense with assistance from senior guard Ryisha Copeland. Bernice Hailey and Alex Minton helped in the ball handling duties as well.
Also adding some offensive punch for Italy was Cory Chance who towers over the competition. Together, Chance and fellow post player Jaclynn Lewis controlled the boards while combining for 11-points, with Chance totaling 7-points and Lewis with 4-points. Doing their part in the paint were Taleyia Wilson, with the muscle, and Oleshia Anderson, with the height. Anderson went 1-of-2 from the stripe after drawing a shooting foul inside.
It all added up to Johnson flourishing on the offensive end with her specialty of finishing fast break opportunities for Italy. Johnson compiled 24-points in all to help the Lady Gladiators defeat Bosqueville, 45-32.
Wallis finished the game against Bosqueville with 5-points, including one 3-pointer, and was selected to the all-tournament team. The Lady Gladiators earned 3rd place after winning 2-of-3 games during the tournament.