Battle's Ankle Injury Hamstrings Spartans in State Semifinal Loss

West Springfield had only lost one game all season heading into Wednesday’s AAA state semifinal. That loss was to their opponent in the Final Four, Stonewall Jackson, and while the presence of the Raiders’ Joy Caracciolo made the difference in the first meeting, it was the lack of West Springfield's inside presence, Logan Battle, that ultimately cost the Spartans at the VCU Siegel Center in Richmond.

Battle tweaked her right ankle early in the second half, but was able to re-enter the game after getting it wrapped with some extra tape. She aggravated the injury again in the fourth quarter, and it proved to be too much to handle. When she left the game, the Spartans led 39-37 with 6:54 left.

Stonewall Jackson outscored West Springfield 10-3 the rest of the way to advance to the AAA state championship game with a 47-42 win.

“I’d bet my house we don’t lose that game with Logan in the game,” West Springfield Coach Bill Gibson said. “But that’s part of the game.”

West Springfield certainly looked the better team with Battle playing. After getting torched by Caracciolo in December, the Spartans clamped down on her inside, thanks to Battle and Nora Osei, as well as April Robinson sagging into the high post. Caracciolo didn’t score until the 6:31 mark of the third quarter, and the Spartans held her to just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Behind Robinson, the Spartans took control of the game in the third quarter. The junior point guard scored seven points in the quarter, and West Springfield turned a slim two-point halftime lead into a seven-point advantage with just 7:30 remaining in the game.

Just more than 30 seconds later, the tide turned.

After Battle was forced to the bench, the Raiders took advantage, scoring 11 straight points to take a four-point lead. Jordan Miller hit a clutch three to bring the Spartans to within one with 4:33 left, but they were the last points West Springfield would score.

“It was a tough game, and when you lose a good player like Logan Battle it takes a little bit out of you,” Gibson said. “We didn’t have enough to pick up the difference with her out.”

While the Spartans kept Caracciolo in check, Indiana-bound Necole Sterling picked up the slack on the offensive end, scoring a game-high 18 points, including a key stretch after Caracciolo picked up her third foul with seven minutes left in the second quarter. With her star teammate forced to the bench, Sterling scored eight points in the quarter, keeping her team within striking distance heading into halftime.

Battle first limped off in the third quarter, and went back to the locker room with a trainer. She came back in the game with her right sock pulled way up her calf. Although she didn’t score, her return coincided with the 8-2 run that put the Spartans ahead by seven.

“It definitely affected us on rebounding, and when she went out we had back-to-back turnovers,” Robinson said. “I saw her [get hurt] the second time and I was just like, ‘Oh no.’”

Robinson led the Spartans with 12 points and also grabbed six rebounds. Miller had 10 points, while Battle added eight points and six rebounds in just 21 minutes of action. Nora Osei pulled down 10 boards.

Even though West Springfield’s season comes to an end one stop short of the state championship game for the second straight year, there’s plenty of reason for optimism looking ahead to 2011-12. Robinson, Battle, Miller and Amy Berglund, four of the team’s five starters, will all return next season.

“Last time [we were in the semifinals] we were nervous,” Robinson said. “This time we just came out knowing how it felt, and we weren’t nervous and we gave it our all. Hopefully we can make it back down here again.”