Local team takes silver at senior games
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The four-woman squad captured the silver medal at this summer’s National Senior Games in Pittsburgh, Pa., going undefeated through pool play before falling just short in the gold-medal game.
Carolyn Lance, Blanche Cook, JoAn Cantrell and Bev Schwin, along with coach Dewey Cantrell, represented Warren County at the event, returning to the Nationals after just missing a spot on the medalists’ podium in 2003.
The team was sponsored by Biomet, of Warsaw, Ind. (a manufacturer of prostheses for hip and knee replacements), as well as Apex Corporation of McMinnville.
Competing in the women’s “70-plus” division, the Bulldogs rolled through the opening two days of pool play, finishing 4-0 and scoring the tournament’s highest point total to take the No. 1 seed into the bracketed portion of the event.
Pool play lasted two days at Pittsburgh’s Peterson Center, a nine-court facility which hosted constant basketball action each day in the Senior Games’ 11 men’s and women’s divisions. The Bulldogs played two 24-minute games per day, before taking part in three contests on the third day of the tourney.
Lance posted 19 points and Cantrell added 11 as the Bulldogs opened things up with a 42-23 shellacking of the “Canyon Nets,” a team from New Mexico. Cook added eight points in the win, while Schwin had four.
Taking the court next against the “Die Hards,” a squad from San Diego, the Bulldogs had a bit more competition, but still came away with a 31-23 victory. Lance had 13 of the team’s evenly spread point total, while Cantrell added 12, Cook had 10 and Schwin posted six.
The following day, the Bulldogs came out ready to play, breaking the 40-point mark twice as they took a pair of blowout wins.
Lance scored 17 with Cantrell adding 16 as the local hoopsters routed “She-Ca-Go” of Illinois, 41-12. Cook added five points in that win, with Schwin chipping in four.
The team’s highest point total of the tournament came in their final pool game, when they routed Columbine, Colo., by a 48-14 margin. Cantrell burned the nets for a whopping 24 points in that victory, while Lance had 16, Cook had six and Schwin netted two.
Earning a bye in the bracketed portion of the tournament, the Bulldogs cruised into the semifinals with a 35-16 victory over the Butler Cubs, who were representing their home state of Pennsylvania. Lance’s 14 points led the way, while Cantrell had 13, Cook had six and Schwin had two.
In the semis, once again McMinnville faced the “Die Hards,” and once again came away with a single-digit margin of victory, winning 30-22. Lance and Cantrell accounted for all their team’s offense, with Lance posting 22 points and Cantrell chipping in eight.
The gold-medal matchup featured the Bulldogs taking on the Silver Slammers of Elmwood, La., a team which used its size, speed and stamina to its advantage on the way to a 36-22 victory over the local squad.
“They were big and fast, and didn’t seem to be near as tired as we were,” said Cantrell, who had only recently recovered from a sprained ankle which kept her out of the district Games this spring. “We had only one substitute, and they had several.”
Lance managed 16 points in the final game, but was kept off the boards for much of the contest by the Slammer’s posts. Cook was held to four points, while Cantrell added two after Slammer defenders kept her from her trademark outside shot.
The “Golden Girls” of Oklahoma came home with the bronze medal by clipping the “Die Hards” 28-24, repeating as the third-place finisher after beating out McMinnville for the Bronze in 2003.