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Sports

Champions: Fort Zumwalt South Girls Claim District Title

Lady Bulldogs battle to victory over Howell Central in Class 5, District 8 finals.

The Class 5, District 8 championship game came down to No. 1 vs. No. 2.

In an intense battle between number second-seeded Fort Zumwalt South Lady Bulldogs and the top-seededFrancis Howell Central Lady Spartans, the Lady Bulldogs pulled off a  34-29 win to claim the District crown.

In a game that featured some of the area's more prominent individual players for both sides, it was in the end a complete team effort that propelled the Lady Bulldogs to the District crown.

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Zumwalt South's roster features the talented senior tandem of forward Julie Hlinak and guard Shannon McKenzie. Both played very big roles in their team's victory, but the supporting cast of Lady Bulldogs provided a big spark to seal the championship for Zumwalt South. Sophomore center Claire Johnson and junior forward Alyssa Meador both contributed big offensively and defensively.

Johnson was stout on defense, helping to control the powerful presence of Howell Central under the basket. She also chipped in two key blocked shots in the first quarter and a game leading seven points at halftime. Her 11 points tied her with Meador for the game high.

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In addition to Meador's sound night offensively, she also earned praise from Zumwalt South head coach Mike Schneider for her containment of Howell Central power forward Sharese Jones.

“Alyssa Meador stepped up tonight,” Schneider said. “Defense is key. Sharese Jones is the heart of their offense. It was her assignment, she took it and did a great job.”

Zumwalt South was able to hold the Howell Central junior to just four points in the first three quarters, and eight for the game. Jones came into the game averaging 17.3 points per game.

Offense was tough to come by for both teams. Zumwalt South's lead at halftime was just 17-10. However, the Lady Bulldogs were able to get contributions from their roster as a whole, whereas Howell Central struggled to get their inside game going and failed to make an adjustment.

The Lady Spartans did come out strong in the second half, outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 13-10 in the third quarter. However, Zumwalt South tightened up and showed a dogged defense in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

“This has been our goal all year,” Mckenzie said. “We played really good as a team. Alyssa had to guard Sharese, and she did a great job. Claire really stepped it up. All around we played great a game.”

The win moves Zumwalt South (20-5) on to face the winner of the Troy vs. Fort Zumwalt West Class 5, District 7 championship game to take place at at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The Lady Bulldogs and District 7 champs will then play on March 2, 2011, to see whose quest for a state title continues and whose season ends.

“We're going to continue to keep working on our defense,” coach Schneider said, in regards to what he intends his team to emphasize for their next match-up. “We've got a pretty good idea of how these teams play. We'll watch some tape and see if we can come up with a good game plan for the next round.”

Howell Central's season ends with a 20-8 record. With four of their five starters not yet seniors, the Lady Spartans could have an equally-talented squad next season.

But for now, St. Peters remains represented in MSHSAA girls postseason  basketball with the Fort Zumwalt South Lady Bulldogs—champions of Class 5, District 8.

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