North Pike’s previous two meetings with Lawrence County came down to a mere five points.
Coach Lance Golmon figured Friday night’s District 7-4A championship would be much of the same.
He was right.
North Pike battled back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime and held on for a 74-71 win at South Pike.
“We could have hung our head and quit,” Golmon said. “But we didn’t. We fought, and I attribute that to senior leadership.”
Senior forward Kaylan Hughes came up big down the stretch, finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds. But Hughes fouled out with 43.4 seconds in the fourth and the Lady Jags played the entire overtime without her.
Senior Precious Jefferson, who had been in her own foul trouble the entire game, picked up right where Hughes left off. Jefferson notched 17 points and nine rebounds.
“When Kaylan fouled out, it’s like (Precious) took it on herself to take charge,” Golmon said.
North Pike’s bench was also key when Hughes left the game. Rickera Martin (14) and Zana McCray (11) combined for 25 points, and it was Martin’s layup with 11.3 seconds in overtime that sealed it.
After four ties and four lead changes in overtime, North Pike avoided a repeat of the end of regulation and held on to earn its first district tournament title since 2003. The Lady Jags secured the No. 1 seed and will host Northeast Lauderdale (4-19), the No. 4 seed from District 5, on Monday.
“It’s great to have, but this is not our ultimate goal,” said Golmon, holding the trophy by his side. “Our ultimate goal is to get to Jackson to win it all. By winning this district, we put ourselves in a good opportunity to be successful.”
It was also the second win in three tries this season with Lawrence County. The Lady Jags won the first meeting 62-61 and fell 69-65 on Feb. 3.
Friday night’s game nearly turned into a Lawrence County rout as the Lady Cougars led 46-35 heading into the fourth quarter. North Pike stayed composed and ripped off an 22-5 run to take a 57-51 lead with 2:14 to play.
A 3-point play by Hughes made it 60-51 with 1:22 and caused the pro-North Pike crowd to celebrate prematurely.
Lawrence County caused several key turnovers and ended the game on a 9-0 run to force overtime.
North Pike nearly escaped with the win when Nicole Jefferson and Precious Jefferson had back-to-back blocks with less than 10 seconds left before Brittany McDuffey’s jumper tied it with 1.2 seconds.
Golmon admitted he could have easily played keep-away in the final minute to avoid the extra session. The aggressive nature nearly cost North Pike the game.
“I thought at the end, don’t change them, don’t hold them back,” he said. “With that group, the best thing to do it let them play ball.”
The Lady Jags also didn’t help their cause with a whopping 22 missed free throws (12 of 34), although they did hold a 45-30 rebound advantage.
Nicole Jefferson was huge on both ends of the floor for North Pike. She had only two field goals, to finish with eight points (4 of 8 from the line), but grabbed 15 rebounds (nine offensive), nine steals and five assists.
“She gives me everything she’s got all night long,” Golmon said. “She was picking at me before the game that she forgot her knee pads. She said, ‘Coach I’m not diving on the floor tonight,’ but I promise you every time a loose ball was on the floor, she was there to go get it. She’s a hard worker.”
McDuffey led Lawrence County with 20 points, and Taylor Brister, the District Most Valuable Player, had 19.
Lady Eagles victorious
In the consolation game, South Pike took care of Columbia, 59-47.
Jamaya Carter and Akayla Powell both scored 18 points for South Pike.
Kim Lee had 15 points and Rajedah Woodson added 12 for Columbia.
Third-seeded South Pike travels Monday to West Lauderdale, the No. 2 seed from District 5.
