GIRLS -- Rampants come out smelling like a 'Rose' against Saints

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on January 17, 2015 11:24 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne's Zaria Atkins launched a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded and watched the ball drop through the net.

Half of the gym cheered wildly.

It was the J.H. Rose fan section, though.

Atkins' 3 at the buzzer counted, but the Rampants walked out with a 57-55 victory over their Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference foe Friday evening. Atkins Atkins finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Her 3-pointer was the final basket in a fourth-quarter comeback effort that fell short, where the Saints trailed by 15 entering the final frame.

"We showed some fight at the end so that was promising," Southern Wayne assistant coach Takisha Vann said. "The fourth quarter was the best we played, but we needed to do those things in the first half."

Though Atkins led the team in scoring, the Rampants' pressure on the Saints backcourt made life difficult for the junior and her teammates. Southern Wayne (7-9 overall, 2-3 ECC) showed its youth in the frontcourt by its inability to get open and come to the ball for much of the game, especially in the first half.

Rose forced 26 turnovers.

The Saints' three main post players -- Faith Gurley, Anastashia McNair and Iyahna Bess -- combined for just 12 points.

"I know we're young, but we're at the point in the season where nobody has the excuse of being young anymore," Vann said. "We need someone to step up and play."

Southern Wayne's second-leading scorer, Cierra Thompson, had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Saints never led after the first quarter.

They struggled to take care of the ball, which enabled Rose to attack often with the Saints on their heels. Southern Wayne tried to stop the Rampants with their 2-3 zone, but their weak side defense broke down and skip passes set up Rose shooters for 11 3-pointers.

Jillian Ebron scored 26 points and drained six 3s.

The Saints transitioned to a man-to-man defense and the Rampants used their quickness to attack the basket.

"They were hitting tonight, (Ebron) she had a big game," Vann said. "But we struggled especially on the weak side of our zone defense an they got a lot of open shots. We just got outplayed tonight."