CAROLINA 1A: Rosewood's defense suffocates Lakewood's girls

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 21, 2016 12:07 PM

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SALEMBURG -- Once Rosewood's pressure defense switched into gear and fueled its offensive engine, Lakewood didn't stand a chance Friday evening.

Especially in the first quarter.

The Eagles employed a suffocating full-court man scheme that the frustrated -- and at times sluggish -- Leopards just couldn't solve. The miscues enabled Rosewood to walk away with a 65-40 victory and the Carolina 1-A Conference girls' basketball tournament championship.

"I was hoping for maybe like 20 (points) and I think we got a little more than that," said RHS head coach Rick Grantham, who added the press created the tempo he wanted.

"When I say we don't start fast, we're not hitting two or three shots back-to-back, but once it gets rolling, it rolls pretty good down hill."

Indeed.

Rosewood broke a 6-6 tie with a mind-blowing 23-2 run that all but silenced a partisan Lakewood crowd eager to see their team avenge a pair of regular-season losses. Hannah Daniels and Alyssa Garrison combined for five steals that led to buckets by Lexi Mercer, Jala Holloman and Payton Lane.

Lane's 3-pointer off the dribble occurred during the middle of the run. It was just one of three triples -- Mercer hit the other two -- that top-seeded Rosewood had for the game.

Daniels logged a career-high seven assists, pulled down three rebounds, swished a baseline jumper and picked Lakewood for two steals -- all in the first period. The soft-spoken junior collected six rebounds on the night.

"We just try not to foul, which was a problem for us in the last game," Daniels said of the Eagles' semifinal-round win over Neuse Charter.

"(Tonight) we just wanted to get another number on the (conference championship) board. That was our goal. We didn't do anything different (defensively) ... practiced just the same for this game."

Rosewood led 29-8 after one quarter.

The second-seeded Leopards started the second period with a 7-0 run. But the Eagles scrambled for loose balls on the floor, intercepted lazy Lakewood passes and waltzed into the locker room with a commanding 46-22 lead.

Tired from the break-neck, first-half pace, Rosewood (22-3 overall) and Lakewood combined for just 37 second-half points. The Eagles went into a four corners-style offense to conserve energy in the fourth quarter.

"They played so hard ... did awesome (and) defended without fouling early," said Grantham, whose team continues to miss two players -- Macy Tyndall and Nekia Williams -- who are both out due to concussion protocol.

Mercer posted her conference-leading 15th double-double of the season -- 22 points, 11 rebounds. Garrison provided 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and blocked two shots.

Holloman (10 assists) and Lane chipped in 10 points apiece. Tayzlie Tripple contributed nine points and four rebounds.