Tight defense leads Lady Leopards to win over Union

The Union Lady Spartans invaded Leopard Country at Lakewood Tuesday night, looking to grab their first win in Carolina 1A conference play. Lakewood shut down any attempt at that though, with a tough defense and a complementary offense, taking the dominant 71-28 victory to remain unbeaten on the year.

Union’s Ahleeyah Richardson and Lakewood’s Jahmai Rich squared off for the opening tip, but the two had to redo it after the first attempt resulted in a stalemate. Zadariyah Faison grabbed the ball for the Spartans first and brought it down the court, but the signature Leopard defense poked the ball loose to take it to the other end. Lakewood’s first possession resulted in no points either as the two teams were locked in an early stalemate.

Lakewood’s Areona McKoy picked off a pass from Faison, but couldn’t connect layup at the other end. Instead it was Faison who scored the game’s first point on a foul shot on the Spartans’ next trip down the court.

Alexis Rhodes got a block of Faison to squander more points, but the Leopards remained scoreless almost two minutes into the game. Their first points would come on a McKoy jumper across the middle of the lane with just under 6:00 to play in the first quarter.

Rich would be fouled on a put-back for Lakewood, and she sank her first of two foul shots to give Lakewood the 3-1 advantage as the scoring drought continued. The Spartans would tie it up shortly after on a long two of their own as the first quarter was nearly halfway complete.

McKoy took a defensive rebound coast-to-coast for a layup to break the tie, still north of the halfway point of the opening quarter. Union’s Anastasia Galarga was called for a foul on a layup by Rhodes, but the Leopard couldn’t find the bottom told the net on either attempt.

Faison tied it again, this time at five points apiece near the 3:30 mark, but McKoy assisted Kiyah Braxton on a wide-open jumper on the left side to break it open again at 7-5 on Lakewood’s next trip down the floor.

In a night already plagued by injuries in the JV game and warm-ups for the girls’ game, Lakewood’s Karima Freeman took a hard foul with 2:17 remaining in the opening period. Her lower left leg was attended to by medical staff and she was helped off the floor after being knocked down and staying there for a period of time.

After action resumed, McKoy sniped another pass and took it for another layup, making it a 9-5 for the home team. While Union struggled with turnovers — both resulting from their own mistakes and a tight opposition — Lakewood wasn’t capitalizing on very many. McKoy extended the lead once more to 11-5 on a buzzer-beater to end the lackluster first quarter for both squads.

It was McKoy who opened scoring for the second, when she sank a free throw to give Lakewood the seven point lead. Faison answered with a layup, making it 12-7 early in the second quarter. Rich grabbed two more Leopard points on a put-back.

Faison was unsuccessful on two more free throws but found herself with the ball shortly after the second, which she sank in front of the rim to make it a 14-9 lead for Lakewood. Braxton drove to the rim on Lakewood’s next possession, but Makayla Hall fouled her on her way there. She sank one of her two shots from the charity stripe. Faison would come up with a block of her own on Rhodes, but Lakewood came up with a three-ball and McKoy quickly added another steal and score, giving them the 20-9 lead with five minutes to play in the half.

Evelin Alvarez took an inbound pass and attempted to set up the offense, but Rhodes was there to force a turnover on a block. McKoy grabbed the loose ball and took it to the basket at the other end, but missed the layup. Union’s Makayla Hall collected the rebound, but McKoy was there once more for the steal. She dished it to Braxton on the low block, who was fouled on her layup attempt. Braxton sank one of the two and made it 21-9.

Faison found the basket through contact after collecting a defensive rebound and taking it down the court, cutting Lakewood’s lead to 21-11. Trinity Bell grabbed a Spartan pass on the next trip though and got the uncontested layup to make it 23-11.

Braxton was called for a block on a drive by Faison, but she was able to fight through the contact. Richardson came up with the put-back later and cut Lakewood’s lead to nine at 24-15 with under two minutes to go in the half. Takiyah Carr would assist Braxton on another long two to make it 26-15.

McKoy grabbed two more on a pull-up jumper on a breakaway to extend the Leopards’ lead even further, and she was fouled on another possession, sinking both foul shots to make it a 30-15 lead with under :45 to play in the opening half. She assisted Rhodes on a layup that she was fouled on, but couldn’t sink the and-1.

On the next trip defensively, Rhodes fouled Alvarez as she was attempting a three, which gave her three shots from the foul line. She sank two, making it 32-17.

That would be the score at halftime.

McKoy once again grabbed the first points of the quarter when she got another steal and took it for a layup. She grabbed another steal on the inbound, which she assisted A’miyah Smith on a layup with. Faison would assist Hall for their first points of the half, but Rich answered and the score quickly became 38-21. McKoy added many steals in the opening minutes of the third and the points continued to pile on for Lakewood. They jumped out to a 44-21 lead with 5:25 to go before Union’s Mark Oates signaled for a timeout.

Faison continued to be Union’s best weapon, gaining points for the Spartans where she could, but the Leopards were unrelenting. McKoy assisted Rhodes on another long two, making it a 48-23 lead with under four minutes remaining.

Richardson had the fast break assist for Faison, giving them another two from a layup, but Rhodes hit another jumper and McKoy got two more layups from rebounds and turnovers by the Spartans, making it a 54-25 game as the third period winded down.

Alvarez assisted Hall on a layup with 10.9 seconds to play in the quarter, which she made through contact, but couldn’t find the bottom of the net on the free throw.

The quarter broke with a 56-27 lead by Lakewood, who was cruising to victory over the visiting Lady Spartans.

The advantage for Lakewood continued to grow in the beginning moments of the fourth, making it a 61-27 ball game in their favor. Faison connected on a foul shot near the six minute mark, but McKoy fired back with a three to make it 64-28.

With reserves in for Lakewood, a running clock was turned on when the score climbed to 68-28, with no stoppages after that point.

Smith would add two more for the Leopards, making it 70-28. With another foul shot added, the game would go final with a score of 71-28.

Lakewood’s head coach, Lofton Kerr, acknowledged the big win for the Leopards, but noted that there were deficiencies with his squad that he would like to see fixed, like ball control, rebounding, and foul shots.

The Lady Leopards moved to 10-0 on the season and 1-0 in Carolina 1A conference play. Union fell to 2-10 on the season and 0-1 in the conference.