SP girls win in final seconds
Published 12:03 am Sunday, January 25, 2009
Once the play was called, it all came down to execution.
Jalynn Bradburn completed the called play and hit a driving layup with seven seconds left to give the South Point Lady Pointers a 32-30 win over the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers Saturday.
South Point coach Dave Adams called a timeout with 16 seconds left to set up the final play. Kayla Fletcher drove right, turned back and threw to Bradburn who spun and hit the layup.
“We called a high pick-and-roll. We told Kayla to get it and go. If it wasn’t there, get it to Jalynn and she did and Jalynn made a nice move,” said Adams.
Ironton was leading 30-29 but turned the ball over with two unforced errors in the final 1:53 of the game that gave South Point new life.
Allison Mitchell was fouled with 1:36 to go and hit the first of two shots that tied the game.
Poor judgment led to a bad pass that gave the ball back to the Lady Pointers with under a minute left and set up the winning play.
South Point (12-1) had only four team fouls and used two fouls to slow Ironton’s progress up the floor. Brea Tackett launched a 40-footer that bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Most of the Lady Tigers’ problems were self-inflicted. They made just 12-of-36 shots including 18 misses around the basket, were guilty of 22 turnovers — most of them unforced — and converted only 5-of-12 at the line.
“We had was too many turnovers and we missed too many easy shots,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham. “South Point did a good job of pressuring us, but we got careless with the ball. We didn’t have the focus and intensity we needed.”
Ironton (10-4) held a 31-to-23 rebound advantage but didn’t take advantage of 13 offensive rebounds.
Adams said Ironton’s size was a concern.
“With us it’s always about putting pressure on the other team. (Ironton) had an advantage inside so we wanted to keep the ball outside,” said Adams.
South Point held the biggest lead of the game at 16-9 on a baseline shot by Mitchell with 3:35 left in the first half.
Ironton got within 16-15 on free throws by Lorna Ceaser and Janie Morris, but a poor inbounds pass enabled Fletcher to get a steal and she was fouled with five seconds to go in the half. Fletcher hit both shots and South Point led 18-15 at the break.
A 15-footer by Morris and a layup by Mercedes Crockrel at the 2:08 mark of the third quarter gave Ironton its first lead since the first quarter at 23-22 and it was 25-23 at the end of the quarter.
A steal by Fletcher led to a layup by Bradburn that tied the game at 27-27. Tackett — who sat out most of the game in foul trouble — hit a 3-pointer with 5:04 to play that put Ironton ahead 30-27.
Tinesha Taylor’s layup with 3:40 got South Point within 30-29 and set up the dramatic finish.
Crockrel had 10 points and seven rebounds while Morris grabbed nine rebounds for Ironton.
Bradburn finished with 13 points. Mitchell had eight points and eight rebounds.
Ironton 5 10 10 5 = 30
South Point 7 11 5 9 = 32
IRONTON (10-4): Mercedes Crockrel 5 0 0-3 10, Alex Taylor 2 0 1-5 5, Brea Tackett 0 1 0-0 3, Janie Morris 2 0 2-2 6, Lorna Ceaser 2 0 2-2 6, Cortney Rister 0 0 0-0 0, Emily Lilly 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-36 5-12 30. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 1-4. Rebounds: 13-18=31 (Morris 9, Crockrel 7, Taylor 5). Assists: 4. Steals: 10 (Crockrel 4, Taylor 2, Morris 2, Ceaser 2). Turnovers: 22.
SOUTH POINT (12-1): Allison Mitchell 2 0 4-7 8, Kayla Fletcher 0 0 2-2 2, Ericka Leighty 1 0 0-3 2, Jalynn Bradburn 6 0 1-1 13, Tinesha Taylor 3 0 1-4 7, Ashley Goodall 0 0 0-0 0, Angelica Stewart 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-34 8-17 32. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 10-13=23 (Mitchell 8, Taylor 4, Leighty 4). Assists: 4 (Fletcher 2). Steals: 8 (Taylor 3, Fletcher 3). Turnovers: 17.
RESERVES: Ironton 35, South Point 16.