Spring 2011: Co-Ed 5v5 League Champs: Just Look At It

I dont want to say I told you so...but WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT I TOLD YOU SO
Just Look At It 58 Western University Dolphins 43

Months ago who would have thought, the co-ed West finals would come to this?  A free agent team against a team that started the season 0-3.  The 3 seed Western University Dolphins and the four seed, Just Look At It were ready to do battle at the Winter Hill School for a spot in the CAC co-ed finals against the Wheels of Steel.  The last time these teams met, it wasn’t pretty for Just Look At It, and it’s also the last time they lost a game back in week 3!

Championships are always fun, because the sidelines get crowded with friends, significant others and curious bystanders from already eliminated teams.  On this Monday night, the Winter Hill School looked more like the Staples Center with a who’s who of CAC co-ed celebrities, including former co-ed West MVP, Sara Doherty, reigning co-ed West MVP, Apolo Swecker, Celli, Tasia, Rev Rip, Lauren Kelley, Tibbs, Roberts and the Wheels of Steel scouting department of Tristan, Monroe, Nick and Loren.  Hell the bystanders probably could have put a team together that could have easily challenged the ones that were on the court.  There were enough people in the house for food and drink vendors…maybe there was a vendor serving beverages that I missed.  I did see an awful lot of red solo cups!

This game got underway with D-Mac and Chris Boll getting his first taste of co-ed WEST action with the whistle.  “The other” Boll as the Winter Hill Gang’s Dave Boll likes to call him…at least that’s what I tell myself.  Just Look At It was ready to play from the opening tip.  After trading a couple of early buckets, Nate Dogg did what he does best, grabbing an offensive rebound and kicking the ball out to Forthrizzi.  Instead of pulling from three, the sharp shooter found Jane Stockton underneath the hoop and she flipped the ball over her head, off the glass and in for a 7-4 lead. 

That play sparked a 17-1 run as the Matts combined for three triples…two for Forthrizzi and one for Austin.  Just like that it was 22-5.  Mo had the only two baskets for the Dolphins and Sharkey had added a free throw. 

No team in either co-ed division took as many three point shots in the regular season as JLAI, who attempted a hair under 27 a game.  If you’re going to attempt more than them, you better be hitting them.  Unfortunately this wasn’t the case for the Dolphins who missed their first 10 threes of the game before Kyle connected on the 11^th to make it a 22-10 deficit.  Never a good sign when your point total is equal to the number of threes you’ve missed. 

The Dolphins have been a dangerous team all season long and I certainly didn’t expect them to go away.  Kyle hit again a couple of minutes later to make it a 10 point game at 25-15.  All things considered, with the team shooting about 15% from three point range and the fact that Gamer, the league player rater leader, had put a goose egg on the board with just a couple of minutes to go in the half, being down 10 didn’t seem THAT bad.  Unfortunately for the Dolphins, it was JLAI scoring the last 5 points of the half to take a 30-15 lead into the break.

The second half picked up right where it left off and JLAI got the lead to 18 on a three by Forthrizzi.  Gamer finally got on the board with 16:35 to go to make it 35-20, but Kelsey IMMEDIATELY answered on the other end with a bucket about 10 seconds later.  She would score four straight points with a nasty drop step move to make it 39-20, biggest lead of the game.  Gamroth started to get it going after his first basket.  He hit a three and starting with the first basket, scored his team’s next 9 points.  The Dolphins hung around.  Early on they shot a ton of threes because they were getting looks…now they were shooting them out of necessity.

L-Mac missed her first 10 tries from downtown before connecting to make it 42-30.  A couple of minutes later, Kyle hit his 3^rd from distance to get the lead down to 10 at 45-35, but that was as close as they would get.  JLAI got the lead back to 14 and then Meg drew a foul with 6:30 to go and went to the line.  She made it a point to tell me before the game that she hit her free throws in the semi final when I wasn’t there.  This was after a rough stretch for her at the stripe earlier in the season.  Well, she didn’t hit em both, but she knocked down one of two to make it 50-35 and the Dolphins were effectively finished. 

From Kyle’s three to make it 45-35, JLAI went on an 11-3 run to put the game again as they cruised to a 58-43 win and a co-ed West championship.  The championship win came in the same gym where Matty Austin, Nate Dogg and Jane Stockton loss title games in past seasons to Genzyme (Nibs was on that team too) and Shirt Before The Shirt.  Still they would need one more win to truly and fully redeem themselves…I got a pretty good feeling about it.  Congrats to Just Look At It!

NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS

-At one point the Dolphins were 3/24 from three point range.  They finished the game 8/35. 

-Player rater leader Gamer and female MVP L-Mac combined for 0 first half points.  They finished with 14 between the two of the while going 2/19 from downtown.  GREAT season from the two of them…tough way to finish it.  I expect them to come back with a vengeance next season!

-Kudos to Alleigh for even playing in this game with a wrist that still may eventually need surgery.  She taped it up, got out there and dished a couple of assists.  Like they say in the pros…you’ve got all off season to heal…only problem is, our off season is about two weeks

-Nate Dogg capped off a breakout co-ed West season with 17 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals and a block.  He’s always put up big rebound and block numbers, but I don’t ever remember seeing a team utilize his skills THIS well.  He is the glue that holds them together.

Kelsey and Meg have been creating matchup problems against smaller girls all season.  They combined for 17 points on the block. 

Scores, Box Scores & Write-Ups

Playoff: week 12

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Co-Ed 5v5 West S11 Basketball League