STORY -- Rosewood girls @ CB Aycock

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on December 11, 2016 1:45 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- Disaster struck for Charles B. Aycock' Tanika Powell fell to the court and writhed in pain during the first quarter of Friday night's game against Rosewood.

The Eagles began to pressure, confuse and out-hustle CBA's offense. The Golden Falcons needed their floor general.

With the game beginning to tilt in favor of Rosewood, Powell made her return -- and grasped the momentum with her own two hands.

The senior captain, who still hobbled from the injury, registered five points, two assists and one blocked in the fourth quarter. The performance lifted CBA to a 54-44 victory over Rosewood.

"The first time she tried to come back, she still wasn't ready," said assistant coach David Davis. "She was still dealing with the ankle. She said she was ready, so we decided to see if she could do it. She came back in and she didn't play at a 100 percent, but she did give us enough to win the game."

Powell's ankle was in such poor shape that two teammates had to carry her off the court.

It appeared the Golden Falcons would be fine without Powell's presence after racing to a 28-11 at halftime. But in the third quarter, Rosewood began to poke holes in the CBA's defense forced a myriad of turnovers.

The Eagles outscored the Golden Falcons 19-6 in the third frame, with 10 points coming from Braylee Butts.

"I think we became aggressive," said Rosewood head coach Tee Wooten. "Our press really gives anybody fits. No matter who we play, it gives them fits. And when we get after people and use our athleticism, it changes games for us."

Powell had seen enough.

With six minutes left in the game, Powell swished a three to give the Golden Falcons a six-point lead. The next basket was an assist from Powell to Lexi Edmundson. After that, Powell made a resounding block that led to a fast-break bucket.

The mini 7-0 run filled the Golden Falcons with energy that was noticeably absent for most of the second half.

"(Powell's ball-handling) helped us protect the ball," Davis said. "She made really important free throws that helped ice the game for us. And the big 3-pointer. She made big plays even though she was limited."

Edmundson paced CBA with a game-high 15 points. Arlanda Faulkner added 10 points and 13 rebounds. Powell, who missed a chunk of the game, finished with 10 points and five assists.

Butts and Nekia Williams led the Eagles with 13 and 14 points, respectively.

CBA is 7-0, but not without some lapses in judgment along the way.

Davis said the team will look to fix those errors so that second-half collapses won't continue, even if Powell or another key player is on the bench.

"One thing is just to play smarter," Davis said. "Part of the reason we didn't box out was because we were playing tired. And part of the reason we're tired is because we're not playing smart on offense. We just need to work on playing smarter in practice."