DIXON – The Sterling Golden Warriors cruised to a six-point halftime lead Wednesday morning against the Rockford Jefferson J-Hawks, using sizable first- and second-quarter runs.
But when shooting struggles and turnover trouble emerged in the second half, their lead slowly slipped away, and the result was a 41-37 loss in a Dixon KSB Holiday Classic consolation game at Lancaster Gym.
Photo from Sterling vs. Rockford Jefferson girls basketball
The Warriors took the lead right away with an 8-0 run, going up 2-1 on an Olivia Melcher steal and fast-break layup, then scoring on a pair of free throws from Melcher and Olivia Turner, before stretching it to 8-1 on a Turner fast-break layup with 19 seconds left.
“I think in the beginning of the game, our girls played really aggressive, and I think that they attacked them when we could,” Sterling coach Taylor Jackson said. “I think they found open teammates, open players, and were able to find good looks. I think we went away from that in the second and third quarters a little bit, and that’s probably what caused us that deficit when they were able to come back.”
Sterling led 8-3 after the first quarter.
With an 11-2 run midway through the second quarter, the Warriors built a 12-point lead. Turner started it off with a quick drive to the basket from the left wing, dropping in a layup for a 10-5 lead, then Melcher hit two free throws and Madison Austin put back a miss to make it a 14-7 game. Melcher pump-faked, then hit a short-range jumper for a 19-7 advantage with 3:11 left.
“I think we were able to be a little more aggressive defensively as well in that quarter, and able to be a little more patient and find open looks, and take advantage of those,” Jackson said of the second-quarter scoring run. “That slipped away from us, and we’ve gotta figure that out.”
Jefferson scored 10 of the next 14 points to cut the deficit to six points at halftime.
Kaidence Bailey hit two nearly identical mid-range spin jumpers on back-to-back possessions to pull the J-Hawks within 23-21 at the 5:57 mark. A Tamara Blackmon fast-break layup and free throw gave Jefferson a two-point lead in the final minute, but Melcher hit a game-tying buzzer-beater from just inside the top of the arc to make it 27-27 entering the final quarter.
Austin regained the Sterling lead with a pair of free throws in the first 20 seconds of the fourth quarter, but Jefferson countered again with an 8-2 run, taking a 35-31 lead on a Mo’rya Mitchell deep 2 with 3:12 left.
Austin hit two more free throws with 1:05 remaining, and Melcher hit the first of two free throws moments later, pulling the Warriors within 36-34, but a Bailey putback off a missed free throw stretched the Jefferson lead to 39-34 with 21 seconds left, and all but sealed the win.
“I think we lost our aggressiveness. We were very complacent at times, and we have to continue to push when we’re in those situations,” Jackson said of the second-half slump, where Sterling was outscored 24-14. “They made some adjustments at halftime, and ours didn’t work as well, so credit to them that they were able to pull that off.”
Maggie Rowzee made it a 39-37 game with a right-corner 3 as 5.2 seconds remained, but Abigail Bracius hit two free throws a second later to ice the game for the J-Hawks.
Melcher finished with 15 points, three steals and two rebounds, Turner totaled 11 points, three rebounds and two steals, and Austin chipped in eight points, five rebounds, one steal and one block.
Bracius paced Jefferson with 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Blockmon added seven points and seven rebounds.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
Be First to Comment