Golden Falcon girls upend Eagles in OT

By Brandon Davis
Published in Sports on December 5, 2015 11:37 PM

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bdavis@newsargus.com

A key player fouled out.

Two aggressive opponents took advantage of the situation.

Once Rosewood senior Lexi Mercer fouled out, Charles B. Aycock's Taylor Daniels and "Mookie" Powell became more aggressive. They drove to the basket, drew fouls and converted free throws in the Golden Falcons' 71-64 overtime win Friday evening.

"I think it picked our team up a little and put theirs down," Daniels said. "I mean, our girls pulled it through. I mean, I don't know what to say. I'm so proud of them ... they pulled it together and did what they had to do."

Daniels recorded 25 points and was 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Powell provided 19 points, and made eight free throws throughout the fourth quarter and overtime.

"I was really nervous, but at the same time, I had to think about it like everybody shoots free throws," Powell said. "You get up there, you'll have to make it so I did. I took a deep breath, and I told God to please let me make these free throws."

Rosewood (2-1 overall) penetrated Charles B. Aycock's defense and built a 10-point lead after one quarter. The Golden Falcons, meanwhile, struggled to execute against the Eagles' 2-3 zone and committed numerous turnovers.

The Eagles led by 12 at halftime.

Late in the third quarter, Daniels fought through Rosewood's defense, drew another foul and swished both shots. Aycock trailed 42-34 before the mind-blowing fourth quarter.

Sophomore Cassandra Lassiter spun around near the baseline for a layup and Daniels added a basket. The Golden Falcons tied the game at 42-all.

Mercer drew her fifth foul on a charging call.

Powell's layup off of Daniels' assist gave Aycock a 56-54 lead. Powell added four more free throws to give the Golden Falcons (5-1) a three-point lead before Jala Holloman buried a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired.

Daniels and Powell remained aggressive in the overtime period and helped Aycock pull out the road win.

"These girls (CBA) are excellent basketball players, but sometimes they try to over think the game instead of just playing," Golden Falcons head coach Roy Harrell said. "I told them, 'If you guys step on them (Rosewood), or you know they can't hold you, take it to the basket.'

"That's what Lexi does. She didn't do anything different for Rosewood. She plays basketball."

Mercer ended the game with 26 points. Senior Alyssa Garrison had 13 points and Williams had nine. Sophomore Hannah Vinson recorded 13 points for CBA, and junior Lexie Edmundson had eight points.

"Without Lexi on the court, we're a different basketball team, but I thought Jala hit a big three there to get us into overtime, but the kids were battling back-and-forth, and I thought Taylor Daniels was outstanding tonight," RHS head coach Rick Grantham said.