Ahleeyah Richardson pulls the ball away from opposing Eagles, looking to get it to a fellow Spartan.
                                 Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

Ahleeyah Richardson pulls the ball away from opposing Eagles, looking to get it to a fellow Spartan.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

<p>An anxious Eagle runs to cover the awaiting Zadariyah Faison, who is looking to set up Union’s offense.</p>
                                 <p>Brandt Young|Sampson Independent</p>

An anxious Eagle runs to cover the awaiting Zadariyah Faison, who is looking to set up Union’s offense.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

<p>Gabriela Subias gets her hand in the face of the tall Rosewood forward, looking to disrupt the flow.</p>
                                 <p>Brandt Young|Sampson Independent</p>

Gabriela Subias gets her hand in the face of the tall Rosewood forward, looking to disrupt the flow.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

<p>Makayla Hall flies out to the wing, looking to block a shot as she bites on a Rosewood pump-fake.</p>
                                 <p>Brandt Young|Sampson Independent</p>

Makayla Hall flies out to the wing, looking to block a shot as she bites on a Rosewood pump-fake.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

The carriage turned back into a pumpkin just short of the Cinderella story for Union’s girls’ basketball team Friday night. The lady Sparts made a valiant effort to erase a double-digit first-half hole they found themselves in, but ultimately the Rosewood Eagles were a touch stronger in the late game, grabbing a slim 36-33 win.

Ahleeyah Richardson took the tipoff for the Spartans, facing the lanky center for the Eagles. Rosewood won the tip and scored a quick couple points. Zadariyah Faison tried to take the early lead on a long three, but came up well short on her first attempt of the night.

It was Richardson who took a defensive rebound down for another scoring opportunity, but was bothered too much by the Eagles. She got a wide-open opportunity at another early three, but the offensive struggles for Union were in full force as Rosewood took the 4-0 lead less than 2:30 into the opening quarter. Head coach Mark Oates signaled for the timeout to slow the pace down, but the Eagles answered the break with an immediate three to go up 7-0.

Gabriela Subias fired off a three-point attempt of her own, but couldn’t find the mark for the scoreless Spartans. The lengthy front court of Rosewood was imposing their will rebounding, as the lengthy center rebounded over the entire Union lineup. The Eagles buried a corner three set up by an offense full of passes, and things continued to spiral for the hosting Spartans.

Besides being out rebounded, Union also struggled with unforced turnovers, defensive rotations, and communication at both ends. With over 5:30 played in the first period, Rosewood led the hosts, 14-0.

Faison launched another three-point attempt, but still couldn’t find the bottom of the net, an accurate example of the struggles thus far.

But, she finally broke through with just over a minute to play in the opener. Grabbing a steal from pass-happy Eagles, she took it to the other end and Euro-stepped her way past and through defenders en route to the bucket for the finger-roll layup. The Eagles returned the favor with another triple at the other end, making it 17-2, but the Spartans had scored their first points — a step in the right direction.

An air ball on a three by Rosewood gave Makayla Hall a rebound, which she pushed up the floor to Faison, for an attempt at more points before the quarter ended. She was no good on the layup, and Evelin Alvarez corralled the rebound, but couldn’t get a shot up and in, and the quarter ended with a 17-2 score.

Scoring slowed for a bit at the beginning of the second period, but it was a three for Faison — her first successful — that was the first points on the board 2:20 into the second. She assisted Richardson on a three of her own and took a steal coast-to-coast, cutting the Eagle lead down to 17-10. All eight points were either scored or assisted by Faison thus far. Rosewood stopped the run with their first points of the quarter on a long two, making its 19-10 in favor of the visitors past the halfway mark of the quarter.

Faison had a three-point attempt partially blocked when the lead jumped back out to double digits at 21-10, but she got retribution shortly after when Subias got a defensive rebound to her for a layup. She swiped the ball as it was brought into the paint on the Eagles’ next possession and scored once more, making it 21-14 and forcing Rosewood into a timeout with :42 on the clock in the half. Hall made a swift move to get a block on the towering Eagle center, and after the second free throw missed, she also grabbed the rebound.

Faison and the Spartans elected to run down most of the remaining clock in the half, and Faison took the deep three to try and cut the lead even further, but she was off the mark. The lead remained unchanged at halftime, with a score of 21-14.

As Rosewood started the second half with the ball, Alvarez got a steal on a pass to take it to the other end. Nothing came of it, though, and the teams got locked into a stalemate.

Faison fed Richardson at the top of the key for a triple, and like that, the Spartans were back in it at 21-17 less than two minutes into the third.

The stalemate would be back in action, as neither team could find points for a stretch of time that lasted several minutes. Turnovers, missed shots, and general miscommunications plagued both squads down the backstretch of the third quarter. The Eagles got one tip-in near the three minute mark to make it 23-17, but outside of that, not much scoring took place.

Hall added a point on a free throw, and Faison sank another running layup, and with under 2:30 left in the third, Rosewood’s lead was cut to just three at 23-20. Alvarez hit a running floater up the right side of the lane with a minute to play in the quarter, narrowing the gap to 23-22. The Eagles would get a layup of their own to go up by three at 25-22, and the Spartans lost their next possession to the opposition. The teams traded empty possessions for the last minute of the quarter, and the squads would go into the final intermission at 25-22 in favor of Rosewood.

With 7:24 remaining in the game, Faison was fouled hard on her way to the rim after poking the ball loose once again. She successfully made the layup, and a lane violation was called on her foul shot by Rosewood. Her subsequent foul shot was also no good, but she cut the Eagles’ lead to just one at 25-24.

And a triple by Alvarez would take the lead for Union with just under 6:30 to play — a team that scored just two points in the first quarter, going down by 15 points at one point was now in the lead, 27-25, deep in the game.

With 5:01 to play, Rosewood would tie it at 27-all on a deep two, but head coach Mark Oates signaled for the timeout to regroup the Spartans and keep focus. An energy filled the gym for the last two quarters from the home stands, electrifying the atmosphere en route to the comeback for the Lady Spartans on a Friday night.

Rosewood would break the tie once more at 29-27 near the 3:30 mark on a flat-footed shot from the towering forward. Faison would hook Alvarez up with a pass for a wide-open jumper to knot things at 29 as the late game drama was unfolding. With 2:35 left to play, Oates signaled for another timeout the tightly contested ballgame.

Another Faison steal led to a basket from her at the other end with under two minutes to play, breaking the tie at 31-29, now in favor of Union.

Alvarez would add another coast-to-coast layup of her own to break it open at 33-29, igniting the crowd into a near-deafening roar. The Eagles grabbed a couple points on a layup of their own, and another timeout was called with 1:11 to play and Union leading 33-31.

A drive from Alvarez up the right side fell short, and Rosewood took possession once more. An inbound for the Eagles with :44 on the clock set the scene for the drama-filled ending. Richardson forced a jump ball with just a hair over 30 seconds to play, but the Spartans committed a costly shooting foul deep in the paint. Rosewood would tie it at 33 on a jumper from the foul line with 20 seconds left, and a steal gave them the ball back. They score an and-1 layup with 5.8 seconds to play, as Alvarez fouled out. They missed the free throw, keeping the lead at 35-33 momentarily, until they were awarded one more on a lane violation, which the shooter sank.

Faison would dribble up the court and try to get the buzzer-beating Hail Mary, but it was off the mark to the right. Rosewood would thwart the comeback and take the 36-33 victory.

Reach Brandt Young at (910) 247-9036, at byoung@clintonnc.com, or on the Sampson Independent Facebook page.