CALHOUN, Ga. – For five minutes of Friday’s GHSA Class AAA second-round playoff game, the Sonoraville Lady Phoenix were running a layup drill.
Visiting Kendrick, renowned for its constant full-court pressure, was being run ragged. However, after building a 14-point lead, Sonoraville’s two most indispensable players got in foul trouble.
Kendrick attacked even harder, soon pulled even and then pulled away for a 66-59 win.
With point guard Kendall Bowman directing the offense and senior post Becca Cheeks finishing at will on the other end, Sonoraville had six layups in the first five minutes, nearly all coming after Kendrick misses and quick outlets.
Cheeks and Bowman, though, each picked up two early fouls – and as soon as they sat, the Cherokees (27-2) went on a 10-0 run to close the quarter and trailed only 20-16.
“We had an outstanding start, but we knew they would go on a run, or runs, because that’s the way they play,” said Sonoraville coach Stephanie Caudell, whose team finished the season 23-6. “We weren’t surprised by the press, and we had prepared well for it. Maybe they were surprised we were able to break it so easily at first. That was exciting, and maybe everybody was shocked.
“Foul trouble was huge in the first half. We’ve known throughout the year that it’s huge for us to keep our key players like Becca and Kendall on the floor. They took advantage of us when we had to sit Kendall.”
Seven of the eight first-period turnovers by Sonoraville came in the final three minutes of the quarter. The Phoenix regrouped to start the second period and still held a 29-25 lead five minutes in when an Orlyana Babatua 3-pointer – the Cherokees’ only one of the game – sparked an 11-4 run to end the half and put them up 36-33 going into the locker room.
Cheeks, who had a monster game with 23 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots, picked up her third foul two minutes into the second half, though, and again Kendrick set sail. A Raven Baker layup gave the visitors a 45-37 lead with 3:15 to go in the third quarter, but Sonoraville went on an 8-2 run that included 3-pointers from Evie Delp and Bowman to tie the game at 47.
However, Kendrick star Brittany Thompson, a relentless penetrator, hit Jabreia Burston with a quick pass for a layup, then drove for her own short shot for a 51-47 lead entering the final period, where the Cherokees scored the quarter’s first six points for a 10-point edge.
The Phoenix, who had seemed to be warming up from outside, started settling for long shots and ended the period just 1-for-11 from 3-point range. When Thompson hit two free throws with less than two minutes left, the lead was 11 and the Cherokees were able to escape with the win.
“Most of the shots were good and looked like they had a chance, but we couldn’t get enough to fall there,” Caudell said. “It’s tough to end it this way, but I would rather have it end with us having a chance like we did tonight. We had a nice lead, but I don’t think any lead is going to be safe against a bunch like that.”
Delp, who along with Bowman fouled out, added 16 points for the Lady Phoenix.
Thompson led Kendrick with 23 points.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.