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Contact the sports department: Phone: 706-367-5233 Fax: 706-367-9355 brandon@mainstreetnews.com IB Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Girls' Basketball Lady Hawks escape close call with Wildcats Mill Creek travels to Alabama Thurs. to start tournament play BY KRISTI REED Mill Creek High School’s Lady Hawks (9-0, 5-0) remain unbeat en after a tough game against the Duluth Wildcats (6-2, 4-1) on Friday. The Wildcats’ defense proved too strong for the Lady Hawks in the first period as Duluth forced several turnovers and held Mill Creek to only 10 points of offense. The Wildcats led the Lady Hawks 18-10 at the end of the first. The Lady Hawks tied the score during the second peri od, but went to the lock er room at halftime trail ing 28-24. Duluth led most of the third, but, by the end of the period, the Lady Hawks began to fight back. Mill Creek took the lead with 45.5 seconds remaining in the third. The Lady Hawks took charge in the fourth to clinch the 65-61 victory. Mill Creek head coach Ashley Phillips said the game was the Lady Hawks’ biggest challenge so far this season. “It was a great game. [Duluth is] a very good team,” Phillips said. “You see how big and ath letic they are. (Mykala) Walker, number 13, she ’ s a big time player and she makes big time shots.” Despite trailing most of the game, Phillips said he knew his team could win in what he expected to be a tough game. “I was concerned because [Duluth] is a good team,” he said. “That’s the kind of game that you want to play. It was a big chal lenge. I thought this was one of the better games we’ve played. Obviously, the competition level was really tough.” Phillips said the size and strength of the Duluth team caused several turnovers by his team. “[Duluth is] big and ath letic and strong and that’s where turnovers come from,” he said. Duluth has three players over six feet tall. Mill Creek has one. In the end though, size did not matter. 5’5” powerhouse Porsha Porter showed that great things can come in small pack ages as she delivered 29 points in the winning effort. Porter sank seven three point shots, three goals and two free throws to lead the Lady Hawks in scoring. Porter and Megan Basile led the Lady Hawks in rebounding, grab bing four boards each. Phillips said Porter came through for the Lady Hawks against the Wildcats. “She’s a big game player, she knows how to step up when we need a big play,” Phillips said. “The steal she had at the end there, if she’d asked me if she should go for it I would’ve said no, but she goes for it and makes it and you just let her play.” Coming up: WHAT: Big Orange Classic WHERE: Hoover, AL WHEN: Dec. 20-Dec. 22 - time TBA STAYING CLOSE Mill Creek senior Whitney Smith (left) defends against a Duluth drive during Friday night’s game. Smith had one steal, one assist, and one rebound during the game. Photo by Kristi Reed Phillips said both teams played hard in Friday night’s game. “That’s the best anybody has played against us,” he said. “Certainly, they’re a team that’s tough to match up with because they’re so big and very athletic.” The Lady Hawks travel to Hoover, Alabama, this week to compete in the Big Orange Classic tournament. Phillips said his team will continue to focus on the fundamentals as they prepare to resume the regular season after the winter break. “We’re just trying to get a little more solid,” he said. “I think we could work on rebounding a little bit. When we play teams that are really big and athletic like [Duluth], we’ve got to box out instead of just trying to jump after the ball.” The Lady Hawks return to region play on January 2 at Norcross. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Mill Creek’s next home game will be January 4 against region opponent Collins Hill. Tip off for that game is also scheduled for 6 p.m. Bovs’ Basketball Mill Creek Hawks win again, defeat Duluth 5747 STOPPING POWER Mill Creek’s Chris Avery (right) works to block a Wildcat drive. Avery had six rebounds against Duluth to aid the Hawks to their second win of the season. Photo by Kristi Reed Bollier says team is moving in the right direction BY KRISTI REED The Mill Creek Hawks picked up another win Friday as they beat the Duluth Wildcats 57-47. The Hawks (2-7, 2-3) played a solid game offensively and defen sively. Mill Creek led Duluth (2-8, 0-6) throughout the game. A cou ple of costly turnovers late in the fourth period allowed the Wildcats to draw Coming up: WHAT: Christmas Invitational WHERE: Hopkinsville, KY WHEN: Dec. 21 - 22 within seven points of the Hawks, but Mill Creek held on to pick up its second win of the sea son. “I thought we played in spurts very well,” Mill Creek head coach Phil Bollier said. “Giving up 47 points isn’t too bad, but it’s prob ably too much for tonight. I just felt like we went flat for about four or five minutes.” Overall though, Bollier said the game showed what the Hawks are capable of accomplishing this season. “We’re going the right direc tion,” he said. “That spell where we got up, we played well and we moved the ball really well. That’s what we want for 32 minutes. We saw a glimpse of the way we want to play.” Chase Anderson led the Hawks in scoring with 19 points. Travis Bollier scored 11 points and Manu Ogbuehi added 10 in the winning effort. Ogbuehi and Chris Avery were the top rebounders with six grabs each. Anderson had five rebounds and seven assists. Prior to the game, Bollier said he expected to see a different team face off against Duluth. “I think [the Hawks are] on the edge of being tough,” he said. “ We’re not quite there yet, but we’re making strides towards getting there.” [Duluth] is a big game for us. Just to get solid. They’ve got a strong player inside the post and they’ve got a guard that does a really nice job of running their team. They’re pretty athletic.” Consistency remains a primary concern for the Hawks, according to Bollier. “We’ve played some really good basketball for stretches,” he said. “We just want to keep building on that.” Bollier said his team can contin ue to win if it plays what he calls Mill Creek Hawk basketball. “We play Mill Creek Hawk bas ketball with team unity, with great effort and great attitude,” he said. “If you do that, and do the little things well, good things happen. I really think the thing that Mill Creek boys’ varsity basketball is doing best is that they’re taking huge steps towards running the program that we have in place and See BASKETBALL on page 2B TangerTown Centre Value Shopping at its J3X_jk3 A • G00DVis FAMILY CLOTHING * PAPER FACTORY - PETSENSE ■ DRESSBARN ■ REEB0K OUTLET STORE ■ AMD MORE! Commerce, Georgia * t-85, Banks Crossing, Exit 149 * 706-335-3354 • Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun 12-6 fcnjoy our WEEKLY OFFERS! Additional 15% OFF when yaa buy any 4 price-buster items ending in 07. Offer expiree 12/25/07 Valid at the Tanger Town Cenke location only. PAPA JOHNS FREE Order of Cheese Sticks with the purchase at any Large Specially Pizza at regular price Offer expires 12/31/07 Valid at the Tanger Town Centre location only.