A decent crowd of about 1500 showed-up last night to watch the women’s basketball team show their progress after a full week of practice.  The Cherry-Silver game pitted the mostly veteran Cherry squad of Shetters, Vogt, Moore, Forest, McLeod, Montgomery and E-Nunu against the younger Silver squad of Letz, Francis, Maddox, Briody, Arndt, and Olude.   The Cherry squad won 74-72 on a last second clutch lay-up by Shetters.  A potential game-winning three by the Silver’s Letz rattled out at the buzzer.

The Silver squad was noticeably quicker outscoring the Cherry team 8 – 0 on fast break points.   Led with 15 points by track star Fatima Maddox, the Silver team played run and gun offense.  The Cherry team closed the gap in the final minutes with some set plays and sharp passing.  Cherry point guard Katie Montgomery hit Moore with a fabulous pass for a bunny lay-up.

The brunt of the battle was in the paint as Jana Francis battled Shetters, Forest, and Olude bravely.  Francis scored 14 points, most from the foul line and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double and almost a trifecta with 7 fouls in a hard fought post battle. 

Melissa Forest led all scorers with 25 points, and 8 rebounds, while Shetters scored 13 points and had 5 rebounds.   Mandi Moore was the other double digit Cherry player with 18 points, and 4 – 4 from the arc.  Every player got double digit minutes except Timi E-Nunu who has been suffering from a respiratory ailment (maybe allergies?).

The Silver team had five players with double digit points, Letz – 10 (2-6 from the arc), Francis – 14, Maddox - 15, Briody – 14 (2-6 from the arc), and Arndt – 13.  Olude had 6 points in limited minutes. 

The experiment with Mandi at the two appeared to be successful, with Mandi getting several good looks and opportunities for entry passes to the post.   Melissa Forest continued to show her senior leadership and desire to end her Lobo career with flair.

Fatima Maddox showed why she is a crowd favorite with several coast-to-coast fast breaks and no-look passes.  The other Lobos will have to watch at all times or Fatima will ear-hole someone with a bullet pass. 

Another interesting competition may be at the three, as freshman Julie Briody will push sophomore Abbie Letz.  Both are prolific scorers so this battle may come down to defense. 

Coach Flanagan is showered in riches this year with a plethora of young talent.  There is little fall-off from 1-2-3 on the depth chart, allowing the opportunity to run pressure defenses and fast break offenses.  Women’s basketball will be very exciting to watch as this young team evolves.  Can you say NCAA?