Stephens overcomes zone in consolation final

A familiar foe, one that had haunted the team througout its young season, faced the Stephens College Stars on Saturday afternoon.

In the Stars’ opener against Graceland, the Yellow Jackets’ 2-3 zone had the Stars looking like a middle school team, with poor guard play causing a 63-44 loss.

So when the Stars’ opponent Saturday in the Days Inn Tip-off Tournament’s consolation game, the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Eutectics, came out in a stacked 2-3, coach Dane Pavlovich wondered how his team would react.

The Stars finally defused the zone Saturday, dominating the game 63-44 and atoning for the whipping they took on Friday night.

Stephens opened their home tournament Friday with an ugly 40-point loss to Midway College, an aggressive, fast-breaking team, amid sloppy ballhandling and poor team defense. But, that kind of embarassment provides a chance for redemption, which the Stars cashed in Saturday afternoon.

The Eutectics in no way resembled the Midway Eagles, and it was a good thing for Stephens. The Stars dominated the consolation final, 68-46, thanks to strong effort on the defensive end.

“I don’t think you can get two teams that are more different back-to-back,” Pavlovich said of the contrast. “They really want to slow it down and play a half court game, and we did a good job of forcing the issue today.”

The Stars owned the glass, pulling down 22 offensive boards to provide second and third offensive opportunities. Operating against a stout 2-3 zone, Stephens found its stride in the middle of the second half, reversing the ball beautifully to free up freshman post Tia LaFavor, who finished with 15 points.

“Tia’s playing phenomenally well right now,” Pavlovich said of his forward.

Stephens fell victim to its own intensity at times, committing more than 25 fouls in a game that saw at least 50 free-throw attempts between the two teams.

“I’m glad we were aggressive,” Pavlovich said. “We’ve just got to learn how to be smarter about it.”

MISSOURI WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: The Tigers defeated Kansas three games to one on Saturday night to improve their season record to 16-11. The win gave the Tigers a two game sweep in the 2006 Border Showdown. Senior Jessica Vander Kooi and junior Na Yang led Missouri with 17 kills each. The Tigers next game is on November 22 at Texas A&M.