Defense answers the call for both Lady Panthers and Jaguars
Point guard Melena Washington scored a game high 22 points and a pressing defense forced 22 turnovers, as Beaumont Central defeated the Magnolia Lady Bulldogs 49- 41 in the Class 4A Region III Area round of the playoffs Friday night at the Campbell Center.
With the win, the Lady Jaguars (27-9) advance to the Region III Quarterfinals where they will face Barbers Hill, who downed Kingwood 65-45.
Washington was present in all phases of the game. She and her teammates gained control of the game through its ball hawking defense. Six of her steals netted six crucial points. Meanwhile, she never lost focus of the offense, driving to the basket, converting the outside shots and crashing the offensive boards. 11 of her 22 points came in the first half.
“If you’re going get on the floor for Central, you have to play defense. That’s our thing”, said Rolander Fontenot Beaumont Central’s coach.
Magnolia, trailing 37-24 heading into the final quarter of play, staged a furious rally. It all started when forward Allison Abendschein knock down back-to-back jumpers and guard Tori Frederick scored on a midrange shot cutting the deficit 41-35 with just under four minutes to go.
Hustling to every loose ball and battling the bigger Jaguars on the boards, Magnolia slashed the lead to three, 42-39 with 2:50 left, just before Abendschein was injured. Chasing a loose ball, abendschein collided with a Central defender, landing outward, where she hit her face on the floor causing an immediate timeout as trainers examined her. She never returned.
“Yes I thought the momentum swing was in our way. We were playing to win; they were playing not to lose. We just needed a few more shots to fall and they didn’t. We played a much better second half. We looked inside, we looked to penetrate and we looked to push it up the floor and then we pressed. That’s what got us back in the game”, said Erika Ritter, Magnolia’s coach.
“The first half we were lax. We were just passing the ball back and forth, not making things happen. In the second half we were much more aggressive. We’ve had a great season. The best season we’ve had in a long time. So, to be done is a very big disappointment for us,” said Ritter.
Beaumont Central broke open a three point first quarter lead, pressing the Lady Bulldogs out its comfort zone to take a 29-13 halftime lead.
“I thought my kids fought through it. They played hard, we had a couple of mental lapse at the end of the third quarter, but they were able to prevail. I’m proud of them, we’re a young team, but we’ve matured throughout the year”, Fontenot said.
Magnolia watched its frustrations mount in the third quarter. Post Ambra Davis and Abendschein score consecutive baskets attempting to trim the lead, but could never slow the Lady Jaguars, who had several second chance points. Mainly, because of 6’0” post Rochelle Harris and 5’9” Rondaysha Thomas who combined for 13 rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs trailed by as many as 18 points in the quarter but cut it to 13 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We just really wasn’t ourselves in the first half. Had we played the first as we did in the second, our chances would have been greater,” Allison Abendschein Magnolia’s forward said.
Top ranked and undefeated Beaumont Ozen (32-0) turned up the pressure in the second half to erase one-point deficit in outlasting a talented summer Creek squad 55-43 in the Class 4A Region III Area round of the playoffs in the first game of a double-header played at the Campbell center.
The victory sends the lady Panthers to its second straight Region III Quarterfinals where they will face Huntsville, a 48-46 winner over Dayton. Ozen is in search of a return trip to Austin after surrendering its last lost since, in the state semifinals.
Nekia Jones led Ozen with 19 points and Asia Booker chipped in 16.
The spark from defense carried over to its offense as Jones and Bealoved Brown converted back-to-back 3-point plays the old fashion way to shake loose from the pesky Lady Bulldogs (15-3) as it took a 34-29 lead with 4:20 left in the third quarter. Booker, Brown, and Breona Sylvester combined for 12 second half steals.
“In order to get my confidence back, I had to come up with some steals”, Panthers guard Asia Booker said.
“They were breaking our press in the first half (Summer Creek). They have good shooters. But when our defense got on track and we began to hit some shots down low, it helped us in the second half”, said Nekia Jones Ozen’s forward.
Summer Creek took a 25-24 lead into intermission, stunning the slow starting Lady Panthers.
“We did seem really flat. I’ll have to get the film and break it down and figure out what it was. But I think one of the positive I can bring out is that. These girls are use to playing in this playoff environment, they really want to get back to state and take care of business that we didn’t last year”, Ozen Coach Tammy Walker-Brown said, who was glad her team were in an adverse environment when it seemed like no shots were falling.
A great shooting night went to waist for Summer Creek’s junior guard Katelynn Johnson, who finished with 20 points, steaming from seven 3-pointers, four coming in the first half. The Bulldogs also had trouble with Ozen’s quickness and speed.
