As his leading scorer picked up a third foul early in the second quarter, North Pike girls basketball coach Lance Golmon turned to none other than a freshman.
Yes a freshman.
Ninth grader Rachel Thompson, who has seen her playing time increase over the past month, shined in a bigger role off the bench Friday night with 16 points and 10 rebounds, including 11 points in the second quarter, in North Pike’s 86-63 clobbering of Columbia.
The Lady Jaguars improved to 15-6 and 8-0 in district play to set up a Tuesday showdown at South Pike (7-1 in district play).
“We haven’t had a younger kid step up and Thompson did (Friday) and played well,” Golmon said.
McCray, who entered the game averaging 27 points in district play, managed just four points in the first half after picking up three quick fouls. She finished with 14 points but was called for her fourth foul with 5:54 left in the third quarter and sat until the fourth.
“She got in foul trouble. … She’s gotta stay out of foul trouble, but we had some kids step up (Friday),” Golmon said.
Rickera Martin, North Pike’s second leading scorer at 13.4 points per game, picked up some of the slack with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds.
Martin showed her versatile skills against an overmatched Columbia team. She hit a pair of 3-pointers but did most of her work on drives to the basket.
She scored 11 of her 23 points in the third quarter half and helped North Pike quickly put away Columbia. The Lady Jags led 45-35 at halftime and went on a 12-4 to start the third quarter.
“Rickera kind of took over the scoring,” Golmon said. “Rickera is a 10th-grader but I don’t care. I don’t see a team in the district that has a girl that can guard her man on man because she’s just so strong.”
North Pike did allow 63 points, only its second-highest output of the season, but Columbia needed 89 shots to achieve that. The Lady Wildcats shot just 27 percent and were outrebounded 60-39
North Pike’s Nicole Jefferson corralled 21 rebounds, to go along with nine points and four steals.
“The way they are, they’re small and they send so many girls to the boards, we can get easy opportunities and we did,” Golmon said.
Late in the game as Columbia tried one last push, North Pike easily beat the press with quick ball movement that led to easy baskets. The Lady Jags used a 19-6 run to push the score to 86-54 before Golmon emptied the bench.
Shantel Taylor led Columbia with 17 points and nine rebounds. Radejah Woodson chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Taylor helped Columbia race out to a 17-8 start with three 3-pointers in the first quarter, but North Pike eventually took a 23-22 with seconds left.
“We played in spurts,” Golmon said. “… It all depends on our pressure. If our press is working, we can be really good.”
Ugly loss magnified for Jags with chippy finish
North Pike happily went into halftime down only four points to district-leading Columbia.
The second half only got worse for North Pike on Friday night when the two teams nearly traded blows.
Columbia (20-4, 8-0) went on a 21-8 run to start the second half, easily separating itself from a scrappy North Pike team that went into the break down just 28-24. en route to a 82-48 win. North Pike finished the game with 44 turnovers and was outscored 54-24 in the second half.
Things heated up in the fourth quarter, however, when several hard fouls were committed by both teams.
Things escalated after a hard foul by Columbia sent a North Pike player into the padded wall behind the basket.
Minutes later, North Pike’s Jeremiah Thompson, who doubles as a linebacker on the football team, returned the favor and nearly tackled a Columbia player on a fastbreak right in front of Columbia’s bench. Thompson was ejected and Columbia’s bench rose quickly, only to be held back by Columbia coach Tony Woody.
Police officers and administrators were placed in each of the four stairwells in case any fans attempted to come on the court. The final minutes went without any further issues, but North Pike coach Keith Russ was noticeably agitated.
Russ declined comment as he went into the locker room to address his team.
North Pike wasted a breakout game from D’Hendrick Wells, who led all scorers with 26 points.
Despite a sloppy first half, North Pike clamped down its defense and forced 19 Columbia turnovers as the two struggled to score.
The half lasted nearly an hour and featured a combination of missed shots, turnovers and timeouts, especially in the second quarter when a total of 31 turnovers were committed.
Columbia started the second half on a 13-4 run and hit its first six shots as North Pike fell apart. Edward Forbes led the Wildcats with 19 points and nine rebounds.
North Pike shot 51 percent (18 of 35) but couldn’t overcome the 44 turnovers, including 25 in the first half.
