When Jasmain Carey gets the ball near the lane, there are normally few individuals who can stop the Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe senior post. Wednesday, in the second round of the GHSA Class AAA girls’ playoffs, she ran into more than one.
Third-ranked Carver High of Atlanta (26-5) used a suffocating inside defense featuring three 6-foot-plus athletes to hold Carey to a season-low five points in a 54-33 win. The Panthers’ combination of size inside and quickness in the backcourt was too much for the point-starved Lady Warriors to overcome.
“We’ve not seen anyone all year who could neutralize Jasmain, but they had several girls inside who gave us problems,” LFO coach Dewayne Watkins said. “They are so long and athletic that things we normally are able to do we couldn’t tonight.”
Two runs did in the Lady Warriors (24-6), who have not scored more than 35 points in their last three games as teams have sagged inside defensively. Carver hit three of its four 3-pointers during a 13-0 run early in the second period, turning a 10-6 lead into a 17-point advantage. One of the team’s lanky posts, Brittany Howard, started the run with a three, followed by back-to-back short jumpers from guard Bria Dorsey.
The run ended with consecutive threes from Mahesha Wamble and Aliyah Stoker as Carver rolled to a 24-10 halftime lead.
Carver needed only three minutes of the second half to effectively put the game away. The Panthers, with Dorsey sparking the offense with her unguardable penetration, started the half with a 10-0 run for a 24-point lead. LFO would get no closer than 19 the rest of the way.
“We knew they wanted to go inside to 22 (Carey), but I felt confident we had the matchups we wanted,” Carver coach Cedric King said. “As for our guards, we knew they couldn’t keep up with them. Bria and Brandi (Wilkey) could get in the lane anytime they wanted and they did a good job of setting up our posts.”
Dorsey, using an array of strong drives and pull-up jumpers, led the winners with 17 points, with Howard adding 12. Jessica White topped LFO with 10, with Carey getting a team-high nine rebounds.
* Northwest Whitfield 57, Mays 53: Emily Trew scored 11 points and had five assists to lead the Lady Bruins to a road win over Mays and into the next round of the AAAA state tournament.
Jordi Cook and Baleigh Coley each scored 10 points, and Coley had six rebounds in the victory.
Mays was led by Kristi Ware’s 15 points, and Kendra Long added 14 points.
Northwest Whitfield (27-3) will next take on Madison County on Friday night at 7 at University of West Georgia.