TUNNEL HILL, Ga. — Trailing by four points with a minute gone in the fourth quarter against undefeated and top-ranked Rome, Northwest Whitfield twin towers Quaneisha McCurty and Christy Robinson decided they had seen enough.
To that point the 6-foot-6 McCurty and the 6-3 Robinson had been outplayed by the smaller yet physical Rome interior. However, an 13-0 run, the first 11 points coming from the posts in a little over two minutes, put the Lady Bruins ahead for good in a 68-58 Region 7-AAAA win.
The victory gives Northwest (22-2, 13-0) the region’s top seed with one regular-season game to go. As a result, the Lady Bruins will get a first-round bye and will host a second-round region playoff game.
“They’re a really physical team, and I guess when we were losing early in the fourth quarter we realized we had to step up our games,” said Robinson, who started the decisive spurt with a three-point play. “Our teammates were able to get us the ball and we were able to finish. We had to get stops on defense. That’s where it started.”
After her layup and free throw, Robinson took a pass from Jordi Cook and hit a short jump shot. After a defensive stop, she fed McCurty for a layup. Following a Rome timeout as the rowdy Northwest crowd roared its approval, McCurty continued the run with a tip-in, then took a one-handed, no-look pass from Baleigh Coley and laid it in for a seven-point lead.
“I felt like they played off and on the first three quarters, but they stepped their game up tremendously in that fourth quarter,” Northwest coach Margaret Stockburger said of Robinson and McCurty. “They wanted the ball then. I don’t think they wanted it quite as much the first three quarters. Our guards did a good job getting the ball to them.”
Robinson also played a key role in shutting down Rome’s Mauri Wells, who entered the game averaging over 20 points. She was held to 11 Tuesday and was often frustrated by Robinson and a slew of Northwest guards who would drop down and provide help.
Desiree Scott picked up some of the slack for the Lady Wolves (21-1, 12-1) with 20 points, and her 3-pointer with 2:47 left, followed by a Vanessa Calhoun basket, cut the lead to four. The Lady Bruins, though, hit nine of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.