Rosewood girls defeat East Columbus in east 1A semifinals

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 8, 2014 11:15 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

FAYETTEVILLE -- Lexi Mercer had been running hot all day.

Despite battling an illness, the Rosewood sophomore never ran out of gas Friday evening, even during a timeout when she leaned over a trash can and literally spilled her guts.

Rick Grantham called it "intestinal fortitude."

Indeed.

The Eagles staged a fourth-quarter rally for the fourth time this season and handed East Columbus a 59-52 loss in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A eastern semifinals on Friday evening. Rosewood (25-2 overall) lost to No. 1-ranked Martin Riverside 75-48 in the championship game Saturday at Crown Arena.

Mercer posted her 15th double-double of the season -- 27 points and 10 rebounds. She picked the Gators for six steals, dished out three assists and blocked two shots in 31-plus minutes of action.

"I was feeling kind of hot today (at school) ... think I have a little sickness, but I feel a little better now after ...," Mercer said as her voice trailed off.

Senior guard Alicia Burns contributed 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds for Rosewood, which advanced to the regional championship for the first time since 1983. Burns scored in double figures for the 21st time this season.

Krystal Yelverton didn't scratch in the scoring column, but the junior point guard dished out a game-high 11 assists and collected three of the Eagles' 15 steals as a team.

"That was a hard 59 (points)," first-year RHS head coach Rick Grantham said. "That game was rough. No wonder they're tired. Both clubs kept cramping up at the end. It was physical."

The teams battled through seven ties and three lead changes in the second half.

De'Maya Berry's offensive putback gave East Columbus its biggest lead of the second half, 44-39, during the final seconds of the third period.

Rosewood trailed 44-40 heading into the fourth.

Feeding off of their fans' energy and encouragement, Burns told her teammates in the huddle that 'we're not done, this is not going to be our last game' before the teams stepped back onto the court.

Mercer and Burns connected on back-to-back shots to forge a 44-44 tie. Senior center Lauren Jenkins drained the Gators' last field goal with 5 1/2 minutes to go, which boosted the lead to 50-47.

Mercer knotted the score at 50-all on a traditional three-point play at the 5-minute mark. Jenkins' free throw with 4:39 to go proved to be the Gators' last point of the season.

Callie Thornton's backdoor layup off of Mercer's assist put the Eagles ahead to stay, 52-51, around the 4-minute mark. Key deflections from Deziree Baker, Hayley Mercer and Thornton helped Rosewood seal the outcome with a 9-1 run.

"Deziree, Hayley and Callie came through with some big plays," Burns said.

The Eagles had 89 offensive possessions and coerced the Gators (19-6) into a playoff-high 29 turnovers. Lexi Mercer and Burns combined to shoot 18 of 46 from the floor, including 4 of 14 behind the 3-point arc.

"Basically, what I said to the team is let Lexi Mercer get hers and she did. She got 27 points on 27 shots," first-year EC head coach Jon Scharpenberg said. "I just said no one else can go off (offensively). To be honest, the wild card was Alicia Burns. She did a great job crashing weakside.

"If we can attack a little bit more, it's a different game."

Rosewood built a 14-2 lead barely 2 1/2 minutes into the contest. East Columbus, the Three Rivers 1-A/2-A champion, responded with a game-tying 14-2 run of its own.

The Gators kept a two-possession advantage in the second quarter and led 31-29 at intermission.

"The team was tough," said Jenkins, who finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots. "They came to play. Apparently they wanted it a little bit more than we did (and) they came out with the win.

"It was a battle for sure."