Bryan County’s girls fell behind early and spent the rest of the night playing catch up Tuesday night at Screven County as they dropped a 50-44 Region 3A-DII matchup. The loss came on the heels of a 41-point (59-18) win over Savannah High four nights earlier.
“We got off to a slow start and it hurt us, especially on the road against a veteran team,” Coach Mario Mincey said. “We are a little banged up right now and we have to depend on our freshmen a lot off the bench.
“I said at the start of the season this is probably one of the toughest regions in the state,” Mincey said. “So, every night you have to come ready to play.
“The good thing is we have some time to figure a few things out before the region tournament. I think we’ll be fine.”
The first quarter proved to be the difference in the game as Screven led 15-10 after the first eight minutes and was up 28-22 at the half. The Redskins (18-4, 10-3) spent the rest of the night chasing the Gamecocks (12-6, 8-4) but could not close the gap.
Jasmine Mikell had 14 points for Bryan County while Layla Mincey had nine and Liz Harvey eight. Mincey had 13 rebounds and two blocks while Harvey did yeoman work with eight rebounds and six steals.
The game with Savannah (2-11, 0-10) was a mismatch from the start as the Redskins jumped out to a 16-3 first quarter lead and then continued to pour it on the second as they outscored the visitors 30-0. It was the second time this season Bryan County had held an opponent scoreless in a quarter following a loss.
The Redskins also blanked Portal in the second quarter following a loss at McIntosh County Academy. Bryan County will be at ECI on Friday night and at Jenkins County on Tuesday before ending regular season play at home on Friday against Claxton.
Bryan County is one of five teams jockeying for the top two spots in the regular season race. The top two teams get byes into the semi-finals of the region tournament and in turn earn an automatic spot in the Class A state playoffs. The third and fourth-place teams earn a first-round bye.
“There’s still a lot of basketball left to be played,” Mincey said. “I know people get tired of me saying it but this is a tough region.”
Bryan County should handle Jenkins County and Claxton with ease but ECI, which was at McIntosh County on Tuesday night, beat Screven County last week and will offer a test. The Redskins were pushed somewhat in posting a 47-38 win in their first meeting.
Mikell scored 18 points to pace the win over Savannah, getting 12 in the first quarter, freshman post player McKenzie Smith had her best scoring night of the season as she came off the bench to score 12 and Harvey had 10.
It was obvious from the outset as to the eventual outcome. Mincey was shuffling players off the bench into the game midway through the first quarter. Smith, for example, had four of her points in the first quarter.
“We look at it as just trying to get ready for the region tournament,” Mincey said of the three straight road games. “We’re looking at different situations we’re trying to run them through.
“As long as you finish in the top three or four, you’re in pretty good shape is the way I look at it,” Mincey said. “Right now, we’re just trying to figure some things out to get ready for the tournament.”