South Central varsities sweep Eastern Wayne

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on November 22, 2006 1:47 PM

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Despite losing to the South Central Falcons 53-51, the Eastern Wayne girl's basketball team proved an important point -- they will not be intimidated.

Facing a school which was returning all five starters from a 20-win team -- including two future Division I signees -- the Warriors didn't back down from a 14-point deficit.

"We knew it would be a tough challenge and I didn't think our girls stepped down," said Eastern Wayne coach Bret Holland. "I was very happy with the way we competed tonight."

South Central built a 38-24 advantage with a 13-4 third-quarter run to seemingly take control of the game. Eastern Wayne though, answered with its own third-quarter run, an 11-2 spurt to pull within 38-33 following a Lindsey Frederick jumper.

In the final period, the Falcons again tried to close out the Warriors, as they went up 48-41 on a Jordan Tyson lay-up with 2:04 to play.

Coach Holland then got the spark he was looking for from senior Yasmine Washington.

"I challenged Yasmine, she's so unselfish and sometimes she tries to take a back seat to the other girls," said Holland. "Yasmine has got to step up, and make some plays and hit some shots."

Following a lay-up from Brittanni Billups, Washington made some huge plays. She came up with a steal and proceeded to drain two of her next three shots from long range. The latter capped the 8-0 run, giving Eastern Wayne its first lead since the first quarter at 49-48.

"Coach told me I had to step up and be a leader," said Washington. "Even though the play wasn't designed for me, I still had to step up. When I hit the shot it was a great adrenaline rush."

The Falcons regained the lead on their next possession with a Kelsey McCorkie three with 46 seconds left at 51-49.

Still brimming with confidence from her previous two makes from long-range, Washington was left wide open in the corner for another three-pointer, but this one spun out of the basket.

Emily Perkins sealed the victory with two free throws for South Central.

"We'll get 'em next time," said Washington.

The victory opens the season for the Falcons who were led by McCorkie's 22 points. Perkins added 11, including three treys.

Washington led the way for Eastern Wayne (0-2) with 21 points, while Billups also reached double figures with 12. Zhanea Charles, playing in her first game since tearing her ACL last season, scored seven points.

In the nightcap, South Central made it a sweep of Eastern Wayne by defeating the boys 74-58. The Falcons used a 16-2 third-quarter run to erase a 14-point first-half deficit and turn back the host Warriors.

Quan Nobles poured in a game-high 25 points -- 19 coming in the second half for South Central leading a trio of scorers in double figures. Leland Jones scored 16 and Kelvin Spears added 12.

Eastern Wayne (0-2) got 12 points from Darryl Cowan and 11 from William White.

The Warriors built a solid lead in the first half thanks to aggressive play on the offensive end, attacking the basket and getting to the foul line. Eastern Wayne shot 23 first-half free throws and led 35-21 with 2:45 to play before halftime.

South Central slowly chipped away at the Eastern Wayne advantage and scored the last seven points before halftime. The Falcons trailed 35-28.

"I thought we played a good first half," said Eastern Wayne coach Marvin Bowman. "In the second half we fizzled out."

In the third quarter, the Warriors couldn't get back to what gave them their early lead as they focused on outside jumpers instead of attacking the basket.

"I started getting on the guys about that," said Bowman of his team settling for long jump shots.

The Falcons became the more aggressive team and blew past the rattled Warriors.

Nobles tomahawk jam closed a 9-0 run and gave South Central its first lead at 43-42. The run would grow to 16-2 and at the end of the period, the Falcons led 50-44.

"Our guys were on the back of their heels," said Bowman. "We allowed them to penetrate. Way too many penetration opportunities."

Eastern Wayne attempted to mount a comeback and pulled to within three at 58-55 with 4:25 remaining following back-to-back three-pointers from Lamar Davis.

South Central had the answer as it continued to push the ball up court for easy chances. Ten straight points put the Falcons back up by 13 at 68-55 with 2:12 to play. The Warriors would never get closer than 11 the rest of the way.

"Our guys realize now they have to work harder and be more focused," said Bowman.

Girls game

South Central 19 6 13 15 -- 53

Eastern Wayne 11 9 13 18 -- 51

SOUTH CENTRAL (1-0)

Kelsey McCorkie 7 2 2-3 22, Emily Perkins 0 3 2-2 11, Jasmine Bryant 3 1 0-1 9, Arecia Moore 3 0 3-7 9, Jordan Tyson 1 0 0-0 2, Jessica Joyner 0 0 0-2 0. Totals -- 14 6 7-15 53

EASTERN WAYNE (0-2)

Yasmine Washington 6 3 0-0 21, Brittani Billups 4 0 4-8 12, Zhanea Charles 3 0 1-4 7, Eboni Reid 2 0 1-2 5, Lindsey Frederick 1 0 0-2 2, Noelle Kelly 1 0 0-0 2, Jasmine Middleton 1 0 0-0 2. Totals -- 18 3 6-16 51

Boys game

South Central 12 16 22 24 -- 74

Eastern Wayne 19 16 9 13 -- 57

SOUTH CENTRAL (1-0)

Quan Nobles 9 1 4-6 25, Leland Jones 4 2 2-2 16, Kelvin Spears 6 0 0-0 12, James Carlton 3 0 1-2 7, Jason Lindsey 2 0 2-2 6, Joseph Jordan 1 0 2-2, Athony Dobson 1 0 0-0 2, Demond Hines 0 0 2-2 2. TOTALS -- 26 3 13-20 74.

EASTERN WAYNE (0-2)

Darryl Cowan 4 0 4-4 12, William White 3 0 5-5 11, Lamar Davis 0 3 0-0 9, Jonathan Hill 1 0 7-8, Darren Bennett 1 0 4-4 6, Jamere Thomas 2 0 0-2 4, Taquivas Williams 0 1 1-2 4, Darhan Zahill 1 0 0-0 2, Dariyon Whisenhunt 0 0 1-5 1 . TOTALS -- 12 4 22-33 58.