It had the makings of the perfect trap game but a sluggish Bryan County girls’ team refused to fold and held on down the stretch Saturday afternoon to get a 34-27 win over Liberty County at the Panthers’ gym.
The Redskins (6-1, 2-0) were coming off a Region 3A-DII 60-31 win at Portal on Friday night and found playing a second game less than 20 hours later more of a struggle than they wanted against a Panthers team (2-1) which was fresh off wins over Woodville-Tompkins and Beach.
“The big thing is when you’re playing up (Liberty County is a Class 4A team) and coming off a game late the night before you’ve got to have a bench,” Coach Mario Mincey said. “We got some good minutes from our young players.
“We got home late and then had to get up early to get here,” Mincey said of the 1 p.m. start following two junior varsity games involving the boys’ and girls’ teams. “It’s a transition, going back-to-back.”
Mincey said playing games on consecutive days was another step in preparing for region tournament play where teams find themselves doing that very thing.
Bryan County returned to region play Tuesday night when it hosted Metter which was playing its first game of the season. The Redskins will be at Savannah High on Friday night and at home on Tuesday when it hosts Screven County which beat Bryan County in the region championship game last year.
Despite not playing Metter entered the week ranked No. 7 in the state followed by the Redskins at No. 8 and Screven at No. 9. Needless to say, Mincey will find out a lot about the makeup of his young team this coming week.
Coming off an outstanding game by Layla Mincey who had 27 points and 13 rebounds along with a couple of blocks at Portal the Redskins found themselves struggling to establish any rhythm and flow against Liberty County.
Jasmine Mikell was visibly off her game as she struggled with missed shots and turnovers while scoring 10 points to lead the Redskins. She had 14 at Portal in a game in which Bryan County made 20 of 28 free throws. They were 7-22 against Liberty.
“Jasmine was tired from last night,” Mincey said of the Liberty County game. “They all were.
“At the end of the day when you play that bad and get a win against a higher classification team the day after you win by 29 I’ll take it,” Mincey said. “You can’t complain.”
The game started out like another breather for the Redskins as they got off to an 8-0 start. The Panthers then scored the next six points to get within two as the quarter ended.
Both teams struggled in the second quarter as evidenced by a 13-10 Bryan county lead at the half. Liberty County got within two, 15-13, but the Redskins closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run, Mikell getting a pair of baskets and Briana Crawford, who had six points on the night, scoring inside.
Bryan County continued its surge by scoring the first five points of the fourth for a 26-13 advantage which proved to be too much for the Panthers to overtake.
Mincey had eight points and 10 rebounds while Laney Sehr hit a pair of 3-pointers. Freshman McKenzie Smith did not score but she pulled down eight rebounds in relief of Mincey who had foul trouble early.
“McKenzie played well,” Mincey said “She played well at Portal, too. She’s got good court sense and presence.”
Portal’s game plan, Mincey said, was designed to stop Mikell and Liz Harvey which allowed the Redskins to get the ball inside to Mincey and the sophomore did not disappoint in scoring her career high.
“We just took what they gave us,” Mincey said. “We were able to get the ball inside and she was able to take advantage of it.”
Bryan County led the upset-minded Panthers, 29-20, at the half and then stepped up the defensive pressure to break it wide open. It was 43-29 after three and then a 17-2 run in the final eight minutes erased all doubt as to the outcome.