Fike Girls Get Revenge

After falling twice to Hunt this season, the varsity women’s basketball team beat 45-43 in the Big East conference tournament quarterfinals. The only way for Fike to participate in postseason would be if they won the tournament. This did not happen as they lost to the No. 1 seed and regular season champion, Northern Nash, the following night. The lady Demons finished with a 12-8 record. Fike’s leading scorer, Emma Jane Proctor, and senior Jamika Ruffin sank 7 of 8 free throws in the final 1:52 to push the demons past the warriors. Proctor sat out huge chunks of the game to prevent getting in foul trouble. She picked up her fourth foul with two minutes left in the third quarter, but she never fouled out. Hunt’s Danisha White fouled out with 3:47 remaining. The game was back-and-forth and very close. There were four lead changes in the final quarter. “Every time we play Hunt and Nash Central, it’s back and forth,�? noted Fike head coach Kim Howard. “Tonight, we played smarter ball. We working the ball up top and did a good job of managing the clock. We got the final bounce — and that is what’s been missing all year long.�? After Fike rebounded a Hunt shot with 10 seconds left, Proctor was fouled and sank the second attempt. The Lady Demons owned a 45-40 margin with six seconds to go. Hunt junior Dani Harris then nailed a 3-point shot at the buzzer. “It was a good win for Fike,�? commented Hunt head coach Wayne Hardy. “I just **** to lose. They just wanted it more than we did and played hard. We got into foul trouble and played soft. And we didn’t play smart.�? EJ Proctor led Fike with 19 points and 8 rebounds. The other half of the “Dynamic Duo,” Jamika Ruffin, added 13 points and 6 rebounds. Proctor noted: “It feels good, but it’s also frustrating. I wish we had done it before. But we didn’t want Hunt to be the team to give us our last game.�? “We were more careful in taking E.J. out (because of foul problems),�? Howard explained. “She was anxious to get in there; she’s quite the competitor. Once she got in, she did a good job of playing decent defense without reaching.”