McKoy, Faison lead teams in dual of young talent

Lakewood’s girls’ basketball team, with their impressive 12-1 record, invaded Union territory for another Carolina 1A match-up Friday night, looking to continue their big season. After a back-and-forth struggle to open the game, it was the Leopards who emerged victorious, 41-30.

Zadariyah Faison took the opening tipoff for the Spartans, but couldn’t land a layup for the game’s first points. Areona McKoy launched a three at the other end for Lakewood, which also missed. The first point of the game came from Union’s Ahleeyah Richardson on a free throw.

McKoy blocked a Faison fast break shortly after, giving Lakewood another possession after they fumbled one away. Alexis Rhodes made the first points for the Leopards on a long jumper, giving the visitors the 2-1 lead. Union head coach Mark Oates then signaled for the game’s first timeout with 6:04 remaining in the first.

The typical high-powered offense had yet to click for the Leopards, with multiple missed shots and empty possessions. Evelin Alvarez tied the game at 2-2 with 5:18 to play in the opening quarter on a foul shot, but McKoy sank a three on Lakewood’s next possession to widen it out to a 5-2 lead over the host team.

Both teams laid on tight defenses, allowing few opportunities for their rivals to score, marking a stark difference from their first match-up this season. After a scoreless few minutes, McKoy broke the drought with a free throw to put Lakewood up 6-3 with less than three minutes to go in the first. She added two more on a baseline layup shortly after.

An assist from Alvarez to Richardson on a jumper from the left side tightened the score back to 8-5, allowing Union to put more points on the board toward the end of the first period.

The slow start for both teams ended with a score of 10-5, as Lakewood’s Kiyah Braxton assisted Jahmai Rich on an inbound pass to add two more shortly before the opening quarter ended.

Empty possessions started the second for both teams, with missed shots the biggest catalyst. Over 1:30 into the second period of action, both teams were held scoreless.

McKoy once again broke the scoreless streak on a put-back layup near the 4:30 mark to make it a 12-5 lead for Lakewood. Faison answered with a pair of free throws at the other end, closing the gap to the same five points it had been.

McKoy drove down the baseline and got up and under for another layup, allowing the Leopards to double up Union’s score at 14-7 near the three-minute mark in the half. That score grew further, to 18-7, courtesy of plays by A’miyah Smith, Trinity Bell, and McKoy, as the clock moved under two minutes to the half.

McKoy put her mark on the game to close out the first half for both teams, and the score sat at 21-7.

The Spartans started with the ball in the second half, and Lakewood came out them with a smothering defense. The defense was for naught, though, as Makayla Hall got a quick bucket to cut Lakewood’s lead to 21-9.

McKoy fouled Faison on a layup attempt with 6:35 to play in the third, as the two stars duked it out. Faison couldn’t hit the free throws, but a teammate was there to clean things up and cut Lakewood’s lead to 10, at 21-11.

Gabriela Subias assisted Hall on a fast break layup, as a return for a Lakewood basket, keeping the visitors’ lead at 10 points. Faison received another pair of free throws, where she was once again unsuccessful on both. She assisted Subias on a triple on Union’s next trip down the court, and Lakewood’s head coach, Lofton Kerr, signaled for a timeout, hoping to slow the Spartans’ 9-2 run with 4:37 left in the third.

A three from Rhodes out of the break extended Lakewood’s lead to 10.

Another foul on Faison gave her yet another set of free throws, this time sinking one to cut the lead back to single digits.

Just when it looked like the scoring struggles were back for Lakewood — as they only landed two shots in the quarter — they hit another three to open it back to an 11-point lead at 29-18 with less than two minutes in the third.

The quarter ended with Lakewood holding a 29-19 lead.

Subias quickly got the Lady Spartans on the board in the fourth with a pair of free throws, but Lakewood’s Takiyah Carr made a layup courtesy of a drive after a Rhodes pass to once again move the lead to double digits. The score widened to 35-21 nearly two minutes into the fourth quarter as all facets were working in their favor.

One lapse came when Faison took a pass to the other end for the fast break layup, but McKoy answered almost immediately with an elbow jumper at the other end.

The lead — or deficit — didn’t have massive swings in either direction as time moved under four minutes to play. It had grown out to 14 points at 39-25, but Faison hit a pair of free throws to shrink it back to 12.

A deep three from Richardson with 1:45 to play cut the lead down to nine, with a score of 39-30. McKoy pushed it back to double digits on a put-back after Braxton stole an inbound pass but missed a layup.

Lakewood held the ball for the remaining 22 seconds and took the 41-30 road victory.