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By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Too many missed shots inside spelled the end of a remarkable season for Northside High’s girls basketball Lady Eagles.
Danielle Jackson’s rebound of a missed free throw and assist to Joylyn Stroud came with less than 40 seconds to play in regulation. It gave Stephenson High, the visiting team to Warner Robins from Stone Mountain, a three-point lead.
Though Northside’s Chan Fann scored the last field goal of her team’s season on another offensive rebound, Lady Jaguar center Patrice Butler put in two foul shots. Stephenson, state champions of GHSA AAAAA two years ago, advanced to this year’s Elite 8 with a 67-64 win.
Casaundra Wilson’s team was on a 19-game winning streak that included wins in all Region 1-AAAAA games. Four starters reached double figures in points, but the bench produced just one make from the foul line.
Senior Tai Brown had 18 points to lead all scorers. Fann’s late put-back gave the junior forward a 14-point game. Sophomore Jasmine Wilson scored 13 points and senior guard Ladarria Clark added 12.
Stephenson also had four players in double figures, Jackson leading the charge with 15 points.
Northside led by as much as 10 points in the second quarter. The Lady Jaguars, after falling down 10, hit four 3-pointers to close out the first half and take a two-point edge, 37-35, into the break.
In a much more deliberate paced third quarter, the Lady Eagles crept back ahead by one, 48-47. The hosts were ahead for the last time, 50-48, early in the fourth, but a long list of missed lay-ins began to take its toll. With Stephenson leading 54-52, Clark made a great pass inside; the ensuing shot went straight up and down without making contact with the rim.
Lady Jaguar Hiydayah Williams scored consecutive field goals for the visitors. Those gave Stephenson its largest margin, six points (58-52), with under five minutes to play.
Brown’s steal led to a put-back basket by Fann (58-56), but Jackson countered with a penetration score to get that six-point lead back at 62-56 with 2:30 remaining.
Clark scored on her own steal, and the Lady Eagles earned another takeaway 15 seconds later. Stephenson also missed consecutive shots, and Brown took it to the opposite end, drawing a foul. She sank both from the line, and the score read 62-all with 51.2 seconds on the clock.
For the next Lady Jaguar trip, Butler took the ball in drawing some contact. There was no whistle at first, but as Butler rebounded her miss she earned the chance at the line that turned out to decide the contest. She made her first at 37.6 seconds, but the second did not go in. That’s when Jackson grabbed the loose basketball and found Stroud to put their team ahead 65-62.
Stephenson followed the Fann rebound basket with a quick push down the court. Butler’s free throws gave her 12 points for the game. She was on the bench most of the first half with two personal fouls in the first two minutes of regulation.
The first half played out more like a foul shooting contest. Northside had 10 attempts in the first quarter and was perfect on all 10. Even with some mismatches in height, the Lady Eagles made up for it with a quickness edge as Butler’s second foul (at 6:07) was for reaching in on a fast break.
The Lady Jaguars had six turnovers in that opening quarter and was just 2-for-6 at the line. Northside led as much as seven, 10-3, but Stephenson found an open shot against the press and pulled within six, 14-8.
The Lady Eagles actually went a long time without scoring from the field. The first two possessions of the second quarter resulted in a baseline jumper for Clark and a Chelsea Waters penetration that made it an 18-8 game.
Stephenson’s 3-point shooting warmed up with the first make coming at 6:22. They also rebounded a miss from a corner and converted in a 7-0 run.
Using that quickness, Clark took a long rebound at the foul line and pushed it up ahead for Wilson. Waters, the Lady Eagle point guard, later anticipated a pass at the top of the key and drew a foul going in. Her free throws kept it a seven-point game at 25-18.
Butler returned to the action and keyed Stephenson’s 7-2 run that tied the score 28-28. She was on the receiving end of a press-break pass and found an open put-back shot off penetration.
On a three-point play by Williams – the result of an offensive board – the Lady Jags led for the first time, 33-30, at 53 seconds before halftime. In the last 15 seconds, Clark hit a long jumper only to see Jackson can a trey. Northside was 9-for-13 at the line for the second quarter alone, but Stephenson’s percentage improved making 7-of-9.
Butler’s team had the ball first for the second half, and she hit a jumper from the top of the key. The first Lady Eagle field goal came two minutes in, Brown hitting a 3 from a corner.
On a Butler stick-back, Stephenson led 45-42, Wilson wiped that out with her own offensive rebound score along with a foul shot. Fouls weren’t called quite as often in this quarter as the second, but Northside took back the lead going into the fourth knocking home three late free throws.
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