Tom Mobley agrees without a doubt. In the three-year run of
region basketball championships for Warner Robins High’s girls, No. 3 was the
sweetest.
On Saturday, the Demonettes – down by as many as 11 in the
second half – not only forced overtime with the Lady Knights of Evans High but
dominated overtime to the tune of a 70-59 victory at Jones County High School.
Maybe it’s more appropriate to say senior guard Asha Stegall
dominated the overtime. Eleven of the 13 points for Warner Robins belonged to
her.
“I have never been more proud of a team in my life,” said
Mobley, championship coach this year, 2012 and 2011 … and only one other time
in the 1990s with WRHS. “Asha Stegall’s had a lot of leadership all year long
from summer camp all the way to today. The girls didn’t quit.”
Stegall is only one of three Demonettes who had any real
hand in the previous two tournament championships (in a different region).
Those last two teams were all about college prospects like Danielle Gazaway,
Kenyona Armstrong and Diamond Hudson.
But in the group of three veteran Demonettes, Ce Ce Carroll
drained the tying 3-pointer in the final 22 seconds of regulation. Evans, with
10 seconds roughly, didn’t call a timeout until 1.2 seconds showed; it didn’t
matter.
“Offensive boards were huge,” said Mobley, recapping what
prompted Warner Robins’ comeback. “(Freshman) Tesia Walker had 15 rebounds. We
got fouled after we got offensive rebounds. Free-throw shooting was huge. Going
to the boards was huge.”
Walker in fact led Warner Robins on the glass all season as
a first-year starter. That would make her the focal point of the rebuilding
effort this year and the progress of this group that includes juniors Destini
Johnson and Jasmine Hamlin and sophomores Dacien Ambler and Sharleza Ross. All
of these players contributed something to the rally.
The foul shooting wasn’t exactly huge for the first three
periods, but with the Demonettes down 44-35 to begin the fourth Stegall
connected on five in a row. Still, her team still trailed by eight, 48-40.
“They were in foul trouble,” said Mobley. “Once we went to
overtime, we narrowed our focus down to certain players (Two players) fouled
out.”
Remaining consistent at the stripe, the Demonettes narrowed
the gap to four points, 48-44. That’s when, at 4:16, Walker’s put-back meant
Warner Robins was only two away from a tie. Carroll, before her dramatic
3-ball, stole Evans’ rebound pass under the basket and tied the game 48-all.
Evans, from Columbia County, at 3:27 appeared to regain its
edge on both ends. After back-to-back steals, the Lady Knights went back ahead
on a 3-pointer. The Demonettes finally missed from the foul line, and Evans did
a fast break on the rebound.
Warner Robins would not make three straight free-throws and
found itself back down six, 55-49. Stegall lost a steal, but Johnson got one,
kept it, and the Demonettes were at that spot, 57-54, where Carroll could notch
the biggest shot of the game. Evans helped out missing two at the line.
Out of Stegall’s overtime production, only four were made
from the field. It did start with a basket giving her team its first lead since
3-0 in the first period. Walker scored those three points with her first
stick-back.
Evans, after making 12 3’s in the semifinals against
Houston, did not connect on its first two long tries. The first one did go
through after a press turnover, and it was the start of a long battle from
behind for the Demonettes. The Lady Knights stuck another one in from outside the
arc off Warner Robins’ fourth turnover.
Mobley’s team in fact had five empty possessions in a row
against a 3-2 zone look, and at 2:40 Evans’ hot streak from outside reached
three straight (10-3). Johnson broke the empty string with a baseline jumper,
and Ross followed with a fourth-chance basket. Walker and company kept on
crashing the offensive glass, but left points on the floor from the line.
Warner Robins’ defensive effort was also there, and Evans
did not take a shot with the ball as the quarter clock ran out. The score for
the second was 10-8, and the Lady Knights scored seven straight with three
transition baskets.
Stegall and Hamlin scored on a run to get the Demonettes
within two at 21-19. Evans struggled with its shooting, but never relinquished the
lead. With the basketball and 13 seconds to work with, the Lady Knights slipped
it through at the buzzer to lead 26-21 at halftime.
To start the third quarter, Jada Everett and Kate Hill
executed passes allowing Walker to score. Evans countered with a second-chance
3. Though Hill and Johnson had steals, the Lady Knights earned more second-shot
and takeaway points to lead by nine, 37-28. At 2:29, the margin expanded to its
largest, 11, at 39-28.
Any run the Demonettes tried to make didn’t last as Evans used
a corner 3 to end the third at 44-35.
“Everything’s now gravy at this point,” said Mobley about a
potential state tournament run. He said the region title exceeded even his
expectations.
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