SPRINGFIELD — The Screven County girls were in danger of losing their first game of the season Friday night to the home-standing Lady Rebels of Effingham County. With 10 seconds to play and trailing 33-31, the Lady Gamecocks inbounded the ball and pushed it up court finding strong forward Kadedra Evans wide open at the three-point line.
"We weren't going to lose," said Evans. "We had to stay undefeated."
Evans turned, planted and fired, banking home the game-winning shot with just six seconds left on the clock. Effingham never got a good shot off on the final possession, and SCHS (8-0) held on for the 34-33 win.
"(Kadedra) came to me in the off-season and said she wanted to become a better 3-point shooter," said Screven head coach Jennifer Acree. "I told her as long as she shoots with confidence she can make any shot on the court."
The finish ended a 9-4 ECHS run until that point in what was otherwise a slow, defensive battle. The Rebels took a 32-26 lead with 3:33 left in the game, but Effingham's inability to make free throw's ultimately kept the Gamecocks alive.
Effingham County was just 7-for-21 from the line.
Screven went for 4:36 in the fourth quarter without scoring, but Evans’ put-back with 2:08 left closed the gap to 32-28. Evans’ lay-up after an Ashley Loundy steal 27 seconds later brought the game to 32-31. Evans was fouled on the play and drained the bonus free throw.
"We didn't do a lot of things right tonight," said Acree. "But we did enough to get the win and I think that shows the character of this team. This series (between Screven and Effingham) has a history of being a low-scoring one, but I think we showed we can play that way."
The two teams played to a 5-5 tie after the first quarter and Screven had a 13-10 lead at the half. A Marie Fugle 3 from the top of the key brought the Lady Rebels to within one at 10-9, but both teams went scoreless over the next 2:11.
The Lady Gamecocks then stretched their lead to as many as seven at 19-12 until ECHS went on a 10-3 run to close out the third quarter, tying the score at 22.
Effingham took its first lead at 5:12 in the fourth when Fugle dropped another trey. Kianna Barber's bank shot at the 4:32 gave Efingham its biggest lead at 31-26.
Barber finished with a game-high 13 points and seven rebounds while Fugle added 12. Evans led the Gamecocks with 12 points and five boards with Kiki Warren scoring seven and pulling down seven.
Rebels 72, Gamecocks 67
The Rebels of Effingham County trailed for most of Friday night's contest with visiting Screven County. The Gamecocks, however, continued to let ECHS hang around, and when things started snowballing for the Rebels, it was too late.
Greg Benton had a game-high 20 and Antwon Wright added 17 to lead ECHS to a 72-67 win. Matt Taylor was a rebound short of a double-double with 14 points to lead Screven County. Desmond Campfield and Antrjuan Albright added 13 each for SCHS.
Screven never trailed in the first half, leading by seven after one and by two at halftime after an Albright lay-up at the buzzer.
The second half gave Screven all sorts of trouble, and Effingham took its first lead at the 6:48 mark, 31-29. The Rebels began to press and the Gamecocks' ball-moving, back-door cutting offense stalled. In the second half alone Screven turned the ball over 18 times, finishing the night with 30 total.
Screven (3-6) would eventually tie the game at 47, but reserve Alex Hall scored four straight points for ECHS to rebuild the lead. Hall finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
"We just didn't run our offense," said Screven head coach Arthur Davis. "Too many 3s."
The only factor that kept the score close was Effingham's lack of free throw shooting. The Rebels were 15-for-39 from the line, including Wright going just 7 of 19.
Chad Bishop can be reached at (912)-489-9404.
"We weren't going to lose," said Evans. "We had to stay undefeated."
Evans turned, planted and fired, banking home the game-winning shot with just six seconds left on the clock. Effingham never got a good shot off on the final possession, and SCHS (8-0) held on for the 34-33 win.
"(Kadedra) came to me in the off-season and said she wanted to become a better 3-point shooter," said Screven head coach Jennifer Acree. "I told her as long as she shoots with confidence she can make any shot on the court."
The finish ended a 9-4 ECHS run until that point in what was otherwise a slow, defensive battle. The Rebels took a 32-26 lead with 3:33 left in the game, but Effingham's inability to make free throw's ultimately kept the Gamecocks alive.
Effingham County was just 7-for-21 from the line.
Screven went for 4:36 in the fourth quarter without scoring, but Evans’ put-back with 2:08 left closed the gap to 32-28. Evans’ lay-up after an Ashley Loundy steal 27 seconds later brought the game to 32-31. Evans was fouled on the play and drained the bonus free throw.
"We didn't do a lot of things right tonight," said Acree. "But we did enough to get the win and I think that shows the character of this team. This series (between Screven and Effingham) has a history of being a low-scoring one, but I think we showed we can play that way."
The two teams played to a 5-5 tie after the first quarter and Screven had a 13-10 lead at the half. A Marie Fugle 3 from the top of the key brought the Lady Rebels to within one at 10-9, but both teams went scoreless over the next 2:11.
The Lady Gamecocks then stretched their lead to as many as seven at 19-12 until ECHS went on a 10-3 run to close out the third quarter, tying the score at 22.
Effingham took its first lead at 5:12 in the fourth when Fugle dropped another trey. Kianna Barber's bank shot at the 4:32 gave Efingham its biggest lead at 31-26.
Barber finished with a game-high 13 points and seven rebounds while Fugle added 12. Evans led the Gamecocks with 12 points and five boards with Kiki Warren scoring seven and pulling down seven.
Rebels 72, Gamecocks 67
The Rebels of Effingham County trailed for most of Friday night's contest with visiting Screven County. The Gamecocks, however, continued to let ECHS hang around, and when things started snowballing for the Rebels, it was too late.
Greg Benton had a game-high 20 and Antwon Wright added 17 to lead ECHS to a 72-67 win. Matt Taylor was a rebound short of a double-double with 14 points to lead Screven County. Desmond Campfield and Antrjuan Albright added 13 each for SCHS.
Screven never trailed in the first half, leading by seven after one and by two at halftime after an Albright lay-up at the buzzer.
The second half gave Screven all sorts of trouble, and Effingham took its first lead at the 6:48 mark, 31-29. The Rebels began to press and the Gamecocks' ball-moving, back-door cutting offense stalled. In the second half alone Screven turned the ball over 18 times, finishing the night with 30 total.
Screven (3-6) would eventually tie the game at 47, but reserve Alex Hall scored four straight points for ECHS to rebuild the lead. Hall finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
"We just didn't run our offense," said Screven head coach Arthur Davis. "Too many 3s."
The only factor that kept the score close was Effingham's lack of free throw shooting. The Rebels were 15-for-39 from the line, including Wright going just 7 of 19.
Chad Bishop can be reached at (912)-489-9404.
