1A PLAYOFFS: Rosewood girls advance to 4th round

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on February 27, 2016 11:09 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

At Rosewood -- as in Hollywood -- success often revolves around hitting one's mark.

Such was life for the principal cast of the Eagles' varsity basketball team on Saturday, whose slow start eventually morphed into a runaway, 58-39 production over Southeast Halifax in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A version of the Sweet Sixteen.

Next up is an Elite Eight contest Tuesday at top-seeded Roxboro Community (29-2 overall).

Rosewood (25-3), known for its roaming, chaos-inducing 2-2-1 full court pressure, had difficulty establishing its signature brand of disorder -- or scoring, for that matter -- throughout a turnover-prone first quarter.

Cue Jala Holloman.

The sophomore guard, whose status for the game was unclear just 30 minutes prior to tipoff, ignited the Eagles' with back-to-back layups to begin the second period. Her play also allowed the hosts to establish control of the game's pace.

"We go with our press every time," head coach Rick Grantham said, "and I thought if we could get them going a bit, maybe they (Southeast) might fall into the trap and want to try it (running)."

The plan worked.

Southeast Halifax (21-3) struggled, but effectively used the three ball to keep the affair manageable. Shanautica Alston and Jessica Gregory -- who finished the contest with a combined 14 points -- each dialed from distance twice in the first half.

The Trojans trailed 32-27 at halftime.

And like any good drama, the last act proved most entertaining.

"I trust them unequivocally," Grantham said of his team's game plan, "and once we got it started, (I knew) we would be okay."

Cue Lexi Mercer.

Rosewood's two-time all-state performer -- who finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and three assists -- was everywhere in the second half. She orchestrated the Eagles' relentless attack and effectively authored the demise of a 20-win campaign by Southeast Halifax.

After three quarters, Rosewood led 40-35.

The final period -- which began with a Mercer steal and layup -- settled into an extended victory parade for the Eagles. They held the Trojans to just four points and dribbled out the quarter's last two minutes amidst a wash of cheers by the Rosewood faithful.

And as time expired, their senior guard was a full reconciliation of joy, lofting the basketball into the rafters and launching herself into a mob of Eagles at mid-court.

It's an end-game trend she hopes continues next week.

"We'll go one step at a time," Mercer said, "and hopefully we can end up where we've been trying to get the past three years."