Girls basketball loses thriller to Indian Hill

You missed a great game and some fireworks if you weren't at the girls basketball game at Indian Hill yesterday.  Our girls lost, 61-51, but made a great comeback that was overshadowed to a certain extent by some questionable officiating.

Here's the Enquirer story:

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20100123/SPT0301/1240360/

One comment on that article.  Jeff Wallner writes: "Bell was fouled and hit the first three throw. But, Wyoming head coach Angie Edmonds, arguing that Bell wasn't the proper free-throw shooter, was assessed a technical.  The officials determined Edmonds was correct, but the technical foul stood."  But Bell wasn't fouled.  That's the whole point.  There was a foul, possibly the one called but possibly a moving pick by Indian Hill instead.  Leaving that aside, it is at least sloppy writing.  And come on, Coach Edmonds is an English teacher.  If you're going to write about her, bring your A game.  (And what's with the comma after "But"?)

The play with Sudy Graham at the end of the game caused quite a brouhaha (love that word - not that's writing).  Booster president Tom Horn offered the following obervation after the game:

"Sudy Graham, who provides tremendous senior leadership on the court and plays as hard or harder than anyone on the basketball floor, was unjustly called for that "flagrant foul" with 1.5 seconds to go in the game, and ejected from the game. Sudy continued to battle for a loose ball and happened to get tied up with the Indian Hill coach's daughter, who fell to the floor. This was nothing more than two players going for the ball and deciding who has possession.  The entire Wyoming basketball team, while playing on Indian Hill's home court, continued to grind it out with Indian Hill and pull within a two possession game, only to be rewarded for playing extremely hard to the final second of an intense game with a flagrant foul. This was a good basketball game that ended on a sour note for all the loyal Wyoming fans that attended."

The Roundup would add the comment that while Coach Edmonds received her first technical for "stomping her foot" (I was there, I heard the ref say it), even though the refs eventually acknowledged she was right, the Indian Hill coach, after the play with 1.5 seconds to play, came out on the court, well beyond the half court line, and the refs did nothing.  I won't say we got homered or it was sexism, but I will say it was inconsistent.

I want to make sure that we end on the right note.  The real story was that the girls, led by Nikki McKee, played a great game, didn't give up after being down big, and mounted a great comeback.  As the paper said, Nikki led the scoring with 26.  Sudy chipped in a season high 17.

Next up: Tuesday at Reading - JV at 6, Varsity at 7:30

Photo gallery here.