GIRLS
RICHMOND HILL -- The No. 15 Bradwell Institute Lady Tigers (16-4, 7-3 Region 2-6A) stayed hot while the Richmond Hill Lady Cats (11-11, 2-8 Region 2-6A) are still running cold.
On Tuesday they squared off where the Lady Tigers extended their winning streak to five, including wins over the Region 2-6A top two teams No. 8 Statesboro and No. 3 Brunswick.
The Lady Cats dropped four straight and to .500 after the 53-36 loss to the Lady Tigers.
During warmups the Lady Tigers were given a technical foul for grabbing the rim, allowing the Wildcats to get two free throws and possession after MaKiyah Matthews made both with Zoraya Thornton making a shot at the basket to take a 4-0 lead early.
The scoring of Bailey Gilmore, Taniyah Bowman, and Parris Parham had the Lady Tigers in control with a 16-9 by the end of the first.
And they never lost that lead, giving the Lady Cats trouble and taking a 24-16 advantage at the break.
The Lady Tigers came in hot during the third quarter, forcing turnovers and turning them into points, going on an 8-1 run within the first two minutes of the third quarter and having a 47-28 by the time the fourth started.
“We know it’s always hard to play on the road,” Lady Tigers Head Coach Faye Baker said at Richmond Hill. “We didn’t want the game to be too close, so we decided to go into our pressure and press and were able to get some easy transition baskets to extend the lead.”
The Lady Tigers have a region matchup at Effingham where they will put their winning streak on the line on Feb. 4.
“Our team is starting to believe in what we’ve been trying to tell them all year,” Baker said of the run. “It’s like we’re coming together at the right time going into region tournament play. I’m glad to see us peaking and buying in. The kids are playing and getting after it really really hard. Still not where we need to be, but we are definitely a lot better than we were. We’re trying to get better each and every game and I think that’s happening for us right now.”
The Lady Cats will attempt to get out of their cold spell against Brunswick on Feb. 4.
“We got two games to pull it back together before the region tournament,” Jones said. “You just never know what can happen when you put all the pieces together. We’re hoping to make a little bit of noise. We got to reset and learn from this one. Brunswick’s really really good so it’s going to take a total team effort. We just got to be able to play four quarters to beat a really good team. Our region is really really tough so you can’t have up and down quarters and expect to beat good teams. I think if we can put together four consistent quarters, you give yourself a chance to win at the end.”
--
BOYS
The Richmond Hill Wildcats (5-18, 3-7 Region 2-6A) struggles keep on keeping on as they fell to the Bradwell Institute Tigers (12-9, 6-4 Region 2-6A) 53-36 on Tuesday.
Senior guard Brayden Baker looked to score his 1,000th career point but fell one tally short as he put up 15 on the night.
The Tigers had three separate players score in double figures in Jaylin Frasier (15), Elyjah Thurmon (13), and Tahshaun Frasier (11).
Early in the game the Tigers got out to an early 15-4 lead with a minute left in the first quarter.
Before it concluded the Wildcats trimmed it down to single digits headed into the second quarter down 15-9.
“We didn’t come out with great effort there in the first quarter,” Wildcats Head Coach Bill Henderson said. “When you play against a good team like Bradwell, you got to come ready to play. Coach Randolph always have his guys ready to play. Bradwell always play hard and if you can’t match that intensity early, you’re going to find yourself battling from behind.”
In the second set of eight minutes, the Tigers upped their lead to nine going into halftime leading 26-17.
The Tigers turned the game upside down, shutting down the Wildcats and going on a 18-7 run.
As the scored settled at 44-24 going into the final quarter, the Tigers coasted to the victory, handing the Wildcats their fourth consecutive loss.
“I think you’re seeing the maturity factor with our guys,” Tigers head coach Ty Randolph said. “This is a hungry group of kids. You get to work at 5:30-6 in the morning and they’re standing at the door. They’re hungry for success and it’s a beautiful thing to watch. ‘TOGETHER’ like the back of their jersey. I’m glad they’re mine.”
The Tigers will go to Effingham on Feb. 4 for region play.
“We know this thing is a marathon – not a sprint even though we’re at the end,” Randolph said. “We concentrate on the little things every day.”
The Wildcats will have Brunswick in town for a region game as Baker needs a single point to cross the 1,000-point threshold.
“We felt after Friday when we played Statesboro pretty tight, we had some things going in the right direction,” Henderson said. “We have to improve. Hopefully over the next two or three games we can get that figured out.”