33 turnovers hurt Wildcats <font face="verdana" size="1" color =#CC0000><b>BCSN video</b></font>

Northview s Lisa Johnson, left, tries to fight her way past Chaminade-Julienne s Jena Schafer on her way to the basket.

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Riana Miller drives past Chaminade-Julienne's Aisha Jefferson. Miller led Northview with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

COLUMBUS - Second-ranked Dayton Chaminade-Julienne put the brakes on Northview's surprising march to the Division I state tournament last night, dismantling the Wildcats 43-31 before an announced crowd of 7,000 at St. John Arena.

The Eagles forced the Wildcats into 33 turnovers and scored 30 points off those miscues.

Northview, which had won 21 straight games since losing to Central Catholic early in the season, ended up in a rare situation of having more turnovers than points during a game.

"They definitely put the heat on us tonight," Northview coach Jerry Sigler said.

Neverthless, the Wildcats didn't leave the court as despondent as they did a year earlier when they reached the state tournament riding a school-record 26-game win streak only to end up losing against Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame in a semifinal. Sigler makes it clear the circumstances are quite different.

"They're going to be remembered as the team that wasn't supposed to get here," said Sigler, noting that senior Niki McCoy was the only returning starter. "We just got beat by the No. 2 team in the state that's ranked 14th in country."

Maria Getty, the Division I player of the year, paced Chaminade-Julienne with 16 points and produced seven of the Eagles' 25 steals. Aisha Jefferson had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Northview s Lisa Johnson, left, tries to fight her way past Chaminade-Julienne s Jena Schafer on her way to the basket.

Getty scored 11 points and recorded four steals in the opening quarter to help the Eagles to a 19-7 lead.

"I just knew if I kept playing hard my team would follow me and keep playing hard," Getty said.

McCoy probably felt Chaminade-Julienne's defensive pressure as much as anyone. She played the entire game and was held to seven points while turning the ball over 11 times - twice more than the Eagles.

"I definitely have more respect for them after seeing them play," said McCoy, an All-Ohio first-team selection who will play for the University of Akron next fall.

McCoy committed seven of the Wildcats' 19 turnovers in the first half when the Eagles established complete control, with 22 points coming as a result of those turnovers for a 25-16 lead.

"I was getting frustrated because my passes weren't getting to my players and that was my fault," McCoy said.

The defeat didn't fall solely on McCoy's shoulders. Six others committed at least two turnovers. Northview finished with only five assists. Jen Yark and Lisa Johnson were guilty of six and five turnovers, respectively.

Sigler credited Chaminade-Julienne for dictating how the game would play out: "This team [Chaminade-Julienne] probably played as well as any I've seen in my 30 years," he said. "Everything they did was sharp.

"We knew coming in we couldn't turn the ball over against them. We knew if we did we'd be in trouble. They made us turn the ball over."

Riana Miller led Northview with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

NOTE: Sigler was presented with the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Sportsman Ethics and Integrity Award before last night's game.

The award is presented to one girls basketball coach and one boys basketball coach each year.

"That award to me is about everything coaches should be all about," Sigler said. "I look at it as a tremendous honor."

Sigler has coached 29 years at Northview and has 537 victories - fourth all-time in Ohio.

Contact Donald Emmons at:

demmons@theblade.com

or 419-724-6302.