Nakaylis Washington’s double-double led South Pike to win an offensive battle, and Demarcus Ellzey’s hot shooting gave the Eagles a comfortable lead as the boys and girls teams swept Richland Friday night.
In the girls game, both teams came out extremely aggressive on offense.
Moriah Hurst matched Richland's first two 3-pointers with two of her own.
Destiny Gordon applied pressure to Richland's impressive post player by scoring a couple of physical baskets.
“Those and-one plays by Destiny Gordon gave us momentum and put their big girl in foul trouble,” said head coach Hilton Harrell.
The high-scoring quarter ended with South Pike up 17-12. The second quarter slowed a little but the Lady Eagles maintained their lead going into halftime up 29-21.
The third and fourth quarters were evenly matched, with Richland scoring 1 more point than South Pike.
Harrell attributed the win to defending the passing lane, moving without the ball and limiting second-chance points.
The anchor of these stats was “Ms. Double-Double” herself, Washington, who finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
South Pike 69-, Richland 41
The first quarter saw Harrell's system in full effect — ball movement and inside-out ball play, allowing four players to score.
“We're playing as a team,” Harrell said. “But we have not arrived. We have to continue to respect the game I love.”
This respect can be seen in Ellzey, who began the year slowly but has since bought in to Harrell’s coaching and come out strong.
The second quarter saw Ellzey begin a shooting clinic as he poured on perimeter play that put the Eagles up by double digits.
They never looked back.
Ellzey ended the night with 17 points and four 3's.
Other scorers were Justin Edwards (16), JaQuarius Lewis (11) and Justin Williams (6).
