Burger bucket helps Delta snuff Eagles' surge in second half

COLUMBIA -- After Delta's sizzling first half produced 28 points and an 11-point lead against a team whose defense had been dominant this season, the second half was shaping up a little differently.

Previously unbeaten Meadville had closed to within five with less than a minute to play in the third period, and nearly came up with another defensive stop. A deflected pass that Delta's Taylor Smith intended for Jodi Menz ricocheted to Alison Burger, who immediately converted a 6-footer along the baseline to restore Delta's lead to 37-30.

Meadville never got closer than six the rest of the way as Delta finished off the Class 1 semifinal win.

"I really think that was probably the play of the game," Meadville coach Tony Fairchild said. "I really do. That's the one that sticks out in my mind. It could've maybe made it a two- or three-point game instead of a seven."

Burger, a senior defensive specialist who scored four points in the game, said the shot was just a natural reaction.

"It was like, 'Well, I'm wide open, so I should shoot it, and I better shoot it fast because they were blocking shots,'" Burger said.

Meadville was listed with five blocked shots, but Kaci Sargent, who was credited with one in the stats, had three swats in the first half.

But Delta's offense was clicking while going up against a team that had allowed more than 50 points just once and more than 40 just five times in a 29-0 start.

Delta's 28 points in the first half Thursday exceeded its total in the semifinal loss in its last final four appearance in 2006.

"We were hitting our outside shots very well," Burger said. "I'm really proud of all of our guards. Really, just everybody was hitting today."

Delta hit just 37.9 percent of its field goals in the first half, but it made 4-of-9 3-pointers. Smith, Menz, Sarah Keys and Brittni Deprow each hit one. That kind of attack wasn't something Meadville previously had encountered, and Eagles coach Tony Fairchild knew it wasn't a sure thing even from Delta.

The Bobcats (25-2) had struggled early offensively in the sectional against Scott County Central and in the quarterfinal against Exeter.

"They've had games where they shot the ball extremely well and other games they haven't," Fairchild said. "That's kind of what we'd heard. When they're able to shoot the ball, they're pretty darn good. In the first half, they were pretty darn good."

Fairchild said Delta's success started with the penetration from the guards, who were able to kick it out to open shooters.

"Normally, people don't get around us," Fairchild said, "and with them being able to dribble-drive, it made a difference."

While the Bobcats were not able to keep up the offensive pace in the second half -- in part because they were salting the game away in the end after the sluggish third period -- they did get baskets when they needed them.

Burger's basket stopped a run. Keys turned one of her four steals into a layin, and Menz scored off an assist from Smith earlier in the period.

Three minutes into the fourth, Smith turned an inbounds play into a three-point play that pushed the lead to nine.

Delta coach Randy White said while the offense waned, the defense never wavered.

"We work very, very hard on our defense," White said. "Defense is what wins games when you're not shooting the ball well."

Sargent, who scored all of her team's points in the first period, continued her hot hand in the second half and ended up with 27 points, but the rest of the Eagles squad combined for 12 points.

"No. 23, the big girl on that team, and the other post were the key," Burger said, referring to Sargent and Kailee Cowan. "Those were the two players we had to stop."

The Bobcats were able to do it without racking up as much foul trouble as they did against Exeter in last week's quarterfinal win.

"Alison comes in and really plays good defense," White said. "She helps us out against those bigger kids. She came in there and helped to spark us in the second half."

And the spark included just enough offense.