Lady Cannoneers take women’s MLK crown, defeats Barksdale 69-65

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Good defense down the stretch by the Lady Cannoneers from Fort Sill, Okla., staved off a comeback Jan. 21 by the Barksdale Lady Bombers, winning the women's division of the 2008 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. basketball tournament 69-65 here.

Fort Sill held a 66-65 lead with 47.6 seconds left on the clock, but a turnover on an in-bound pass gave the Lady Bombers an opportunity to take the lead and force a second game in the double-elimination tournament. But, Barksdale failed to convert any opportunities in the remaining seconds.

Lady Cannoneer Coach Dautriel Moore applauded his team for stepping it up in the second half, but was well aware they defeated a good Barksdale team.

"For a team that only has seven players, they're well disciplined," he said. "They can all shoot."

The shots and calls didn't seem to go in favor of the only female Army team to compete in the Sheppard-hosted event. Lady Cannoneer C.J. Jones received two quick technical fouls and was ejected from the game.

Although Moore said he knows it's part of the game, he did joke about the fact that an Army player was ejected from an Air Force base tournament.

"I told (my team) - not being funny - but being on an Air Force base, we weren't getting the calls," he said.

When looking at first-half statistics, the coach might not have been too far from the truth as the Lady Bombers connected on 21-of-28 free throws, compared to just 7-of-8 for Fort Sill.

"After than technical (foul), that was a good motivator for us," said guard Amber Campbell, the leading scorer for Fort Sill with 20 points.

Barksdale held a comfortable 23-14 lead over the Lady Cannoneers, but that changed with less than 8:00 to play in the contest as Fort Sill went on a 9-0 run to take a 29-27 lead. Guard Adrian Williams led the spurt with six points during a two-minute span.

The second half was a different story for both teams as Fort Sill seemed to have stolen the Lady Bombers' intensity and shot-making ability.

"We were setline for shots instead of taking it to them," said Lady Bomber Charmaine Walker. "That's our game."

Barksdale attempted only seven charity shots in the second half compared to 10 trips by Fort Sill to the free throw line.

"We kind of let up on defense in the second half," said Lady Bombers Coach Deon Neil. "We just gave it away."