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St. Croix Girl’s All-Stars Win Hoop Classic with Dominant Second Half

April 16, 2007 — Behind a dominant second-half performance from center Sherice Joseph, the St. Croix girl’s all-stars beat their St. Thomas counterparts 81-67 Saturday to win the ninth All V.I. Hoop Classic at the St. Croix Central High Gym.
Joseph got plenty of help from the all-around play of the game’s MVP, Cheynae Rogers, who kept St. Croix in the game in the first half. The Crucians, who trailed at the break, came out with an intense defensive effort to start the second half. They quickly erased a five-point halftime deficit and gradually pulled away behind Joseph’s strong inside play and 17 second-half points.
St. Thomas started fast and, with a balanced attack led by 11 first-half points from Veronica Hamilton and Lashanda Creque, managed to outscore their Crucians rivals 34-29. The lead would have been much more if not for Rogers' huge first half. Representing the St. Croix Country Day School, Rogers scorched the nets for 19 first-half points on her way to a game-high 30.
With most of her scoring coming on the inside, she got fouled often and spent quite a bit of time at the charity stripe. She converted seven of eight free throws in the half.
Joseph, arguably the number one girl’s basketball player on St. Croix, had a huge following in the crowd. But trying to do too much in the first half resulted in an unusually slow start for her. But she and the rest of her St. Croix teammates really turned things around in the second half. Whatever coach Donald Bough told them at the break worked.
They looked liked a complete different team, especially on defense. Joseph was all over the court, scoring, rebounding and blocking shots to the delight of her many fans in the stands.
Except for Hamilton’s 11 second-half points, the rest of the St. Thomas squad was kept in check with both a full court-press and a man-to-man defense. A plethora of St. Thomas turnovers led to easy fast-break points that saw the lead balloon to as high as 19.
The St. Thomas squad would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way, and the Crucians managed to cruise to the 14-point victory.
Rogers led all scorers with a game-high 30 points. Teammate Joseph’s huge second half enabled her to finish with 24 points. For St. Thomas, Hamilton finished with 22 while teammate Creque netted 17 in a losing effort.
The scholar-athlete award went to Rebecca Seifer, a junior guard from St. Croix Country Day School who has a grade-point average of 3.88.
The girls’s all-tournament team:
— Sherice Joseph (St. Croix Central High), junior forward;
— Cheynae Rogers (St. Croix Country Day School), junior forward;
— Ashley Georges (St. Croix Central High), senior guard;
— Victoria Hamilton (St. Thomas Antilles School), sophomore guard; and
— Lashanda Creque (St. Thomas Eudora Keen High School), sophomore guard.
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