mbrown@sunmulti.com
It’s no surprise that, with two basketball coaches who stress defense, defense and more defense, that the final score of a Northside vs. Warner Robins High girls contest would resemble the halftime score of the ensuing boys game.
A basketball player’s only enemy, however, is herself when going to the foul line. Northside’s Lady Eagles missed 15 charity tosses out of 20 tries Saturday at the Warner Robins High gym. Though the Demonettes were not much better (8-for-17), the home team eked out the big Region 2-AAAAA sub-region win 35-28.
Northside led by as much as 10 in the first quarter, 12 points coming consecutively after a put-back by Demonette freshman Tesia Walker accounted for the game’s first score. Tamera Fann, a sophomore, received a good screen to sink a 3, and senior teammate Kiara Thompson used her left hand to complete a nice baseline drive.
Warner Robins was not getting good shots, especially first shots, at all, and on one rebound Thompson ran with the ball and gave the points to fellow forward Mekhaela Witherspoon. The Demonettes also turned the ball over four times in a row, and Thompson took a baseline pass in the lane for a short jumper and 11-2 Lady Eagles advantage.
Asha Stegall got the home team back on the board with a penetration move at 1:46. Stegall and fellow guard Destini Johnson created turnovers late, and the period ended with Northside up 12-6.
There was a lot of bumping and banging for a couple of minutes in the second quarter, with the only scoring coming from Sharleza Ross and Tia Williams. Demonette Kate Hill was quiet in the first, but her first two attempts in the second went in to bring the margin down to two.
The game was also a case of missed opportunities. Hill had a successful grab of an offensive board, and the Warner Robins defense caused two five-second calls; no points scored from any of these chances. Stegall’s steal was the third takeaway in a row, but again the tally did not change.
Williams, though, was able to capitalize on a turnover by the Demonettes, and the Lady Eagles into halftime up 16-12.
With Jada Everett going inside for 2, and Hill sinking a 3 at 5:35, Warner Robins finally knotted the game at 17-all. Almost 20 seconds later, the Demonettes pushed the ball ahead to Walker, and it was the home team’s first lead since 2-0.
Williams took the basketball away from Johnson and evened it back up 19-all. Williams and Johnson made steals against each other in a later sequence, but it was Northside’s Shambria Smith recovering a near steal by Johnson and reclaiming the lead.
As the third quarter neared an end, each team was experiencing unforced turnovers. Warner Robins was able to get the transition game going, and Stegall put her club back in front 23-21. One more bad Northside giveaway, and the Demonettes worked the ball patiently to Everett, who converted a three-point play.
In all, Warner Robins had nine in a row, Stegall taking a bad inbound pass all the way for 28-22 at the period’s end.
Northside would miss all nine foul shot attempts of the fourth quarter, though Williams put back one early after Stegall’s dribble work became an assist to an open Walker.
With less than five minutes to go, Fann threw an inbound assist to Witherspoon. The Demonettes had some bad breaks on offense, and Williams hustled to block a fast-break attempt with 2:30 on the clock. Warner Robins retained possession, but Thompson put her hand into the passing lane for a takeaway.
Again, the Lady Eagles could not dent the four-point deficit on any of these plays. Stegall then had a tremendous steal on the move at 1:23, and three made foul shots put the game to an end.
Stegall had 10 points, Hill seven and Everett six. Smith led Northside with nine, and Witherspoon scored seven.
BURNAM LIGHTS UP DEMON GYM
Some opponents of Northside High boys basketball know that Jarius Smith can go on a roll that’s lights out when it comes to outside shooting.
Now, future foes must look out for Justin Burnam to do the same.
Burnam had 15 first-quarter points, 23 for the game, as the Eagles of coach Ken Price held off Warner Robins High 63-55 in the Demons’ gym Saturday. It was the second meeting of the season between the boys’ teams of this rivalry, and both games went to Northside, the first being the Houston County Bear Brawl finals. That game was decided by seven points.
Smith did score 12 in Saturday’s game, and point guard Rodney Levine added nine. Warner Robins coach Jamaal Garman went deep into his bench, and players like forward Cortez Brezail didn’t have any points but did a lot of board work to keep the Demons close.
Freshman Marquez Callaway had 14 points while Leon Perry had all of his 10 points in the second half. Juvaun Shine added nine, most of which came in the latter stages.
Price gave a starting spot to Trey Dennis, and he contributed four points early. Burnam had the first five by Northside. Warner Robins stayed close on two blocks in one possession by Nathan Curtis and two assists from Shine to Callaway and Curtis.
Back and forth these rivals went, Burnam and Dennis combining for seven more. Though Burnam stuck two 3-pointers, it was his powerful penetration that staked the Eagles to a 14-8 lead. Burnam threw in one more trey to answer a stick-back from Demon backup Donovan Brown.
Warner Robins went from seven down to three on attacks by Callaway and Shine. As King put back an offensive board, Smith made good on his first shot attempt. That ended the quarter in the Eagles’ favor, 23-16.
Thirty seconds into the second quarter, Burnam remained hot with a 3-ball that extended the visitors to a 10-point edge. The Eagles really broke things open with a 12-0 run with 3-pointers off the hands of Smith and Kyle Johnson. Levine followed in his own miss, and at 3:30 until the half it was a 20-point game, 38-18.
Christian Kennedy, Price’s 6-10 center, wasn’t a factor in all the Northside success until he put back an offensive board. At 2:08, Warner Robins stopped the run. The home team held the Eagles in check until the final buzzer, but it was still a huge gap going into halftime, 40-22.
Garman came out of the break looking for any options that would get the home team going. One who stepped up to that challenge was forward Stephone Raybon, who would get eight points in all, starting with a stick-back. His activity under the glass didn’t wane, but Smith was able to give the Eagles a boost with a slam.
Demon Carlos Scott, also looking to get his game on track, made a nice look inside to Perry. Perry also successfully challenged Kennedy in getting two more. Scott later had a steal, but he was Kennedy’s first block victim.
Callaway connected on back-to-back 3-point tries, but each time Northside matched him. The teams also traded second-chance makes, Darrin Clark of the Eagles standing in the right spot to put in a short jumper. All of this allowed the visitors to stay ahead by 13, 53-40, after the third.
Six in a row by the Demons, however, set the stage for an interesting finish. The Eagles were looking to melt the clock, but were called for an illegal screen. On the other end, Perry put back two points for 53-46.
Northside was now the club looking for baskets, and at 5:04 Johnson’s steal led to a three-point play for Smith. Shine immediately got those back from long range.
It was defensive plays that ultimately led the Eagles to victory, steals coming from Smith and forward Robert Davis. Kennedy also threw in an amazing reverse lay-up behind his back.
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