Victoria Mikell sparked Statesboro to a 48-33 win over Ware County Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Region 3-AAAA tournament, sending the Lady Blue Devils (21-3) into the state tournament.
Mikell’s third quarter play ignited a frustrated SHS squad which fought for a win much closer than the final score.
“We just ran our offense (in the second half),” said Mikell, simply. “We really weren’t running out offense in the first half. We just took our time, ran our offense and found the open person.”
The Devils led by just two coming out of the locker room. Ware tied the game at 18 and then again at 21 on a Sha’kia Lane 3 ball. Mikell then took matters into her own hands, scoring eight points and helping Statesboro build a 36-28 lead through three.
Statesboro coach Jeff Seier must’ve given a heck of a speech at halftime to rally the troops.
“He just told us to calm down,” said Mikell. “We were all panicking when they came within two points because we hadn’t scored in awhile. He told us just to calm down and play.”
The Lady Gators (8-14) dictated the first half with a slow, patient offense that gave them a quick 4-0 lead. SHS didn’t score until Mikell drained a 3 at the 4:16 mark.
The Devils went up 16-8 in the second, but Ware’s box-and-1 frustrated SHS superstar Monnette Bennett, who was already fighting a cold. Nine second quarter turnovers didn’t help either, and WCHS ended the half on a 7-2 run to trail just 18-16 at the break.
Statesboro shot 28 percent in the first half.
“They had slowed the pace down and we like to play fast,” said Seier. “They were keeping our top scorer (Bennett) down and I didn’t want them to panic just because (Ware) was in the ballgame. Sometimes it’s ugly and you just got to grind ‘em out.”
Bennett’s shots began to fall in the second half and she ended up leading SHS with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven steals. The Lady Devils built a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter and seven different players scored.
Mikell added a 3 from halfcourt at the buzzer to end the game — but the shot was waved off.
Lane led Ware with 16 points and forward Katoya Porter added 10.
Statesboro will face Brunswick Friday at Glynn Academy at a yet-to-be-determined time.
Chad Bishop can be reached at (912) 489-9408.
Mikell’s third quarter play ignited a frustrated SHS squad which fought for a win much closer than the final score.
“We just ran our offense (in the second half),” said Mikell, simply. “We really weren’t running out offense in the first half. We just took our time, ran our offense and found the open person.”
The Devils led by just two coming out of the locker room. Ware tied the game at 18 and then again at 21 on a Sha’kia Lane 3 ball. Mikell then took matters into her own hands, scoring eight points and helping Statesboro build a 36-28 lead through three.
Statesboro coach Jeff Seier must’ve given a heck of a speech at halftime to rally the troops.
“He just told us to calm down,” said Mikell. “We were all panicking when they came within two points because we hadn’t scored in awhile. He told us just to calm down and play.”
The Lady Gators (8-14) dictated the first half with a slow, patient offense that gave them a quick 4-0 lead. SHS didn’t score until Mikell drained a 3 at the 4:16 mark.
The Devils went up 16-8 in the second, but Ware’s box-and-1 frustrated SHS superstar Monnette Bennett, who was already fighting a cold. Nine second quarter turnovers didn’t help either, and WCHS ended the half on a 7-2 run to trail just 18-16 at the break.
Statesboro shot 28 percent in the first half.
“They had slowed the pace down and we like to play fast,” said Seier. “They were keeping our top scorer (Bennett) down and I didn’t want them to panic just because (Ware) was in the ballgame. Sometimes it’s ugly and you just got to grind ‘em out.”
Bennett’s shots began to fall in the second half and she ended up leading SHS with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven steals. The Lady Devils built a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter and seven different players scored.
Mikell added a 3 from halfcourt at the buzzer to end the game — but the shot was waved off.
Lane led Ware with 16 points and forward Katoya Porter added 10.
Statesboro will face Brunswick Friday at Glynn Academy at a yet-to-be-determined time.
Chad Bishop can be reached at (912) 489-9408.
