Rush Scores 33 Points as Kennedy Opens Season by Beating Crenshaw, 56-40

Diane DeCree started her final basketball season at Kennedy High with the luxury of already knowing which college she’ll attend next year. But the 6-0 forward found Tuesday the trip to Texas A&M; will include some extra baggage--namely, two or three defenders a game for the next three months while Kennedy goes for another 4-A City championship.

In the first game of the season for both schools, Kennedy got a game-high 33-point performance from junior guard Tisa Rush while DeCree chipped in with 12 points and 17 rebounds in an easy 56-40 nonleague victory over Crenshaw at Kennedy. The game was a rematch of last year’s City playoff semifinal, in which Kennedy eliminated Crenshaw in overtime, 60-53.

“This year I don’t feel as comfortable because more people are keying on me,” said DeCree, who averaged 20.1 points and 17.8 rebounds a game last season and was City defensive player of the year. “Last year we had more tall players and rebounders. Now it’s harder on me because we also had more shooters.”

Kennedy started the game by making only one of six shots from the field, but Crenshaw’s shooting was even worse. Kennedy jumped out to an 11-0 lead midway through the first quarter and ended up with a 31-13 halftime advantage as Crenshaw made only 4 of 27 shots in the first two quarters.

As the only returning “big” player for Kennedy, DeCree was sometimes triple-teamed by Crenshaw in the first half. But DeCree got relief with Rush’s hot shooting in the third quarter.

Rush scored 19 points in the first half, but was just 4 of 12 from the field. In the third quarter, Rush scored Kennedy’s first 10 points, which pulled the Crenshaw defense away from DeCree’s side of the court.

“The coach told me in practice about their zone, but I really didn’t expect it,” Rush said. “It just happened. Their zone was shifted way over and it was easy to get in the lane.”

DeCree put up high-percentage shots during the game. She was 2 of 8 from the field, but was fouled on eight other attempts. She was 8 of 14 from the free throw line.

“Diane doesn’t take bad shots,” Kennedy Coach Craig Raub said. “Right now she’s being patient with the other kids on the team. She’s really being good about the situation. Today I was impressed with her maturity.”

Overall, Kennedy was 18 of 61 from the field, but Raub found little cause for concern.

“The offense is still coming together because of the inexperience of the players as a unit,” he said. “It’s the first time out of the chute and it seems all my teams start out like this.”