Feb 17, 2003 By Mike Ciarochi 3 min read

Carmichaels girls basketball coach Jim Lane calls his team’s first-round WPIAL Class A playoff game against Duquesne “a battle of contrasting styles.” His Lady Mikes feature a seniors-only starting five and it will face a Duquesne team that lists three freshmen and three sophomores among its top six players, yet it still comes down to style.

“It’s going to be our half-court offense against their run-and-gun,” Lane said.

Fourth-seeded Carmichaels meets 13th-seeded Duquesne at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Monessen High School.

Carmichaels won the first girls basketball section title in school history with a 14-0 slate in Section 2 and a 20-2 overall record. Duquesne comes into the game with a 13-9 overall mark and a 5-5 record in what Lane calls a “very tough Section 3.

“The section champion, Monessen, is seeded second and the No. 2 team in the section, Clairton, is seeded third, so Duquesne played some very good teams with a young lineup and still made the playoffs.”

Considering how good this Duquesne team should become, Lane is happy to draw the Lady Dukes this season.

“It’s scary to think what that team is going to be like two years from now,” he said.

Of course, with five senior starters, Lane is focused only on the present. In fact, his season is one he and the program have been waiting for.

“This group of seniors has been playing together since seventh grade,” Lane said. “Three of our starters (Jessica McMinn, Autumn Willis and Amber Willis) have started since they were freshmen and the other two (Meghan Wood and Christina Antonelli) really came into their own as sophomores.”

Lane described Duquesne’s players as “tall girls with long arms. They are very athletic and love to run the floor. They also like to lob the ball into the post, which is a cause for concern. Even though they are young, they know what to do with the ball.”

Duquesne’s best player, according to Lane, is sophomore point guard Shanelle Reeves.

“She is very good off the dribble and creates a lot of opportunities for her teammates,” Lane said.

“Chereave Robinson, a 5-11 freshman, grew up quickly for the Lady Dukes this season.

“Earlier in the season, she scored 13 points and had 13 rebounds against Monessen,” Lane said.

“We handle pressure really well,” Lane said.

“In the last two seasons, we’re 19-1 in games decided by 10 points or less. We handle presses really well because of our experience.”

And the key, of course, is tempo.

“The key is which team gets the other to play its style,” Lane said.