North Greene was able to erase a 19-point, second-half deficit on Saturday night, but in the closing minutes it was South Greene’s Jordyn Roderick who made the biggest plays on her senior night as the Lady Rebels finished on top with a 59-56 victory.
“This was nothing less than what I expected,” South Greene coach Stephen Gregg said. “I felt like no matter what happened early either team was good enough to claw back into it and make it exciting. The fans certainly didn’t leave disappointed. We were able to do some things to build a lead early and it turned out we needed all of it. Whether it’s a good win or a bad win, at this point in the season a win is acceptable.”
Roderick came close to her second triple double in as many days with 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and on top of that she scored South Greene’s final seven points to secure the win.
“Things got a little crazy and we got into foul trouble, but Jordyn stepped up big and was a steady presence late,” Gregg said. “She made some big shots for us late. Jordyn stepped up tonight, she flirted with a triple double again. She has really turned it on since Christmas and made our team better.”
Saturday’s fourth quarter started with South Greene leading 44-38, but that shrank quickly. With 6:50 left to play Sonya Wagner slipped a defender by dribbling behind her back before elevating for a floater that made it a two-point game at 44-42.
With 3:43 left South Greene thought it had some breathing room when Ryleigh Gregg drove to the rack for a 52-45 advantage.
Wagner had other plans, though, and answered with an ill-advised runner from left of the lane that rolled in. After earning a stop Wagner put back a miss in traffic to close the gap to 52-49 with 2:33 left to play.
Wagner led North Greene with 23 points on Friday, including eight tough ones in the fourth quarter.
“Sonya’s shot making ability is second to none. I know there are some great players around, but I wouldn’t trade her for any of them,” North Greene coach James Buchanan said. “She can be coming at you 100 miles per hour, and you don’t know what’s coming. It might be a floater, she might get by you and shoot a layup, or she might step back and hit a three.”
With 2:04 left to play Wagner slashed into the lane and the Lady Rebels collapsed to her. That left Cambell Gaby open on the right wing, and senior launched a triple that tied the game at 52-52.
That lead was short lived as Roderick quickly took off the other way and the Lady Rebels hit her running to the rim. She got her layup to fall through contact, and just six seconds after losing the lead South Greene was back in front at 55-52.
After Haley Bailey made one charity toss for the Lady Huskies Roderick launched a three-pointer from well beyond the arc to give South Greene a 58-53 advantage.
In the final minute Grace Buchanan hit from deep to give the Lady Huskies a chance, and three missed free throws by South Greene further helped that cause, but North Greene could not find the tying shot for a second time.
Much of the reason North Greene found itself in such a big hole early can be attributed to the night’s first possession. Point guard Zoe Sanders grabbed a rebound and reinjured an ankle that has bothered her all year. She immediately left the game and never even had a chance to play on her team’s end of the floor.
Without Sanders North Greene had to adjust and could not do so quickly enough. South Greene took advantage by jumping out to a 10 lead while Buchanan had to burn three timeouts in the first quarter.
“We just got off to a bad start. Zoe gets hurt on the first possession and that changes everything, especially on the defensive end. In this game we felt ok with several matchup, but when (Sanders) came out it threw things all out of whack,” Buchanan said. “Then I think the kids were kind of shell shocked, and we are committing crazy turnovers. We called three timeouts to try to get it straightened out. But this bunch never ceases to amaze me, they are so resilient. After we fell down by so much, I would have never thought we could have tied it, but they have no idea how to quit.”
Roderick scored four points in the opening run while Haley Susong, Hailey Brooks, and Gregg all scored in the paint.
With 4:35 left in the first quarter Wagner turned a steal into two points for North Greene’s first bucket of the night.
The quarter closed with Brooks going the length of the floor twice before Susong hit a jumper from the elbow at the horn for a 21-8 South Greene lead.
Scoring was more balanced in the second quarter, but North Greene could not put a dent in the Lady Rebels’ lead.
Wagner and Buchanan both sank three-pointers for North Greene, but the quarter finished with Ari Hoese hitting from deep for South Greene as the Lady Rebels went to half time leading 32-18.
South Greene’s biggest lead of the night came with 7:22 left in the third quarter when Brooks scored in transition to make it 37-18.
Over the final 2:26 of the third quarter North Greene went on a 10-0 run. Bailey started it with a layup after Hannah Miller found her cutting to the basket. Wagner followed with a triple before Bailey scored in the paint again.
With two seconds left after Wagner picked up a loose ball at midcourt she got a three-pointer to fall to close the gap to 44-38.
Bailey was also in double figures with 16 points for North Greene. For South Greene Ryleigh Gregg had 12 points, while Brooks had 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
South Greene 21 11 12 15 59
North Greene 8 10 20 18 56
South Greene: Roderick 24, Gregg 12, Brooks 10, Hensley 6, Susong 4, Hoese 3
North Greene: Wagner 23, Bailey 16, Buchanan 9, Gaby 4, Miller 4
