Chesapeake-AA coach Dennis Thiele is known for his calm manner. But last night was different.
Thiele berated his players at halftime, urging them to pick up their game and to stop playing sluggishly.
Host Chesapeake responded, scoring 43 second-half points to rout South River, 63-39, in the first round of the Chesapeake Holiday tournament.
The Cougars (2-4) will play McDonough of Charles County, a 52-41 winner over Lansdowne in tonight's 8 o'clock final.
Erika Herron led the Cougars with 16 points, while Adria Lewnes led South River (1-6) with 12 points.
"He's a very psychological coach, always trying to help us with our game," said senior center Kristina Degentesh, "but he tried a different tactic [last night]."
Said Thiele: "I got mad and they caught the brunt of my anger. I told them to get going and give something back to the team."
The result was a 43-point second-half, widening a a 23-20 halftime lead to 46-30 after the third quarter.
The main improvement the Cougars made was on defense. After switching into a 3-2 zone, the Cougars used their height advantage to limit the Seahawks to four points in the second quarter and 10 in the third.
"We were in a 2-1-2 [zone] early, but they were hitting the outside shots, and we switched," said Thiele. "That seemed to work well for us."
At the other end of the court, the Cougars used that height advantage to work the ball inside on the Seahawk zone, and converted several easy layups.
Thiele also used his bench early, when three of his starters got into foul trouble late in the second half. Most of the Cougars responded well to the challenge, particularly freshman Gail Siemer (nine points).
"We've been struggling with a nonexistent offense all year, and they showed me something tonight, the way they came out after halftime," said Thiele. "I hope we can build on this. It was a big win."
In the second game, McDonough (2-4) used a variety of presses to overpower Lansdowne (3-3).
The Rams held Lansdowne to only an Erin Sterner basket in the first quarter, and the Vikings did not score a field goal again until the last minute of the half. McDonough led 24-10 at the break.
"That was the most horrendous half I've ever seen, and don't know what happened to us," said Lansdowne coach Ron Bareford. "It looked like Santa Claus wiped out their memories."
Bareford said the effort in the first half was part his team and part McDonough.
"We normally handle the press better than we did tonight," he said.
Jennifer Burtchette led the Rams with 23 points.
Nicole Cascio paced Lansdowne with 13 points.