by Malcolm Butler
Sophomore Alivia Lee scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and junior Avery Ryan added 16 points and eight boards to lead Cedar Creek to a dramatic 49-42 win over Arcadia Tuesday night as the Lady Cougars claimed the District 1-1A title in front of a standing room only crowd at The Brickhouse.
With the Lady Cougars (25-3, 6-0) leading 43-42 with less than three minutes to play, the game was on the line as Arcadia (24-4, 5-1) was attempting to grab its first lead of the night.
It didn’t happen.
Lee took a lob pass in the middle of the lane off an inbounds and hit a short jumper with 2:10 to play and one minute later Ryan hit a layup off a feed from Lee as the Cougars pulled away for the 13th straight win of the season.
“I thought our girls were ready,” said head coach Katie Hall. “I thought they came out with energy and executed our game plan. The crowd was great. I was pleased with everyone’s performance and contribution tonight.”
Junior point guard Taylor Martinez agreed.
“(This win) was huge,” said Martinez, who scored eight points and sealed the win with two late free throws. “We haven’t been tested in a while. So winning this game going into the playoffs is very important. It just reassures us that we can handle the harder teams and that we are one of those harder teams. It just gives us confidence.”
The two teams traded early buckets before senior Mallory Smith drained a corner three-pointer and Taylor Martinez followed with a pair of free throws. After a Ryan jumper in the lane, Martinez hit her own jumper in the lane to cap a 9-0 run and give the Lady Cougars an 11-2 advantage midway through the opening quarter.
The marquee match-up of the night saw Ryan battling Arcadia super sophomore DeAsia Alexander as the two versatile post players traded blows all night long.
“(Alexander) was great,” said Lee. “She can really score the ball. It took all of us with the help defense … having our (defensive) wall to pick her up.”
Lee hit a corner 3-pointer with 3:23 to play in the first quarter as the Lady Cougars grabbed a double digit lead at 19-8 after the opening period of play.
Arcadia turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter. After committing just four turnovers in the first stanza, the Lady Cougars coughed it up seven times in the second but still lead 29-18 at the half.
“We anticipated it being a struggle in keeping the turnovers down,” said Hall. “They are very athletic. You have to give a lot of credit to Arcadia. Their defense is very good, and we haven’t seen that in a while. We persevered and didn’t hang our heads.”
“Arcadia has a really good defense, something we will see in the playoffs,” said Martinez. “I was able to give the ball up to other people (at times) and that relieved the pressure from me. Having confidence in them and them having confidence in me right back is important. Everyone knows each other and trusts each other on this team.”
After Lee opened the third quarter with a layup to push the lead to 31-18, Ryan picked up her third foul with 7:05 to play. Three minutes later with Creek leading 33-25, Ryan was whistled for her fourth foul and Hall pulled her from the game.
“Avery is a great player, and when she goes out we all have to step up,” said Lee. “If that means me getting any extra rebounds or loose balls and just doing what I can to help.”
Alexander took advantage of Ryan’s absence, scoring five quick points, including a corner three, to close the gap to 33-30. After two free throws by Arcadia sophomore guard Ari Williams closed it to 33-32, Le answered with a layup and then Alexander was whistled for her fourth foul sending the Lady Hornets star to the pine.
“Alivia was big (during that stretch with Ryan on the bench),” said Hall. “When you have two players like Avery Ryan and DeAsia Alexander both out of the game, I like how our girls stuck with it and looked to find the gaps (in the defense) and penetrate like Alivia did. It really worked for us.”
Lee opened the fourth quarter with a bucket for Creek, pushing the advantage to 39-33 with 6:45 to play. Both Ryan and Alexander entered back into the game 18 seconds later.
Two Caroline James free throws with 4:10 remaining gave the Lady Cougars a five-point lead before four straight by Arcadia closed it to 43-42, setting up the final stretch.
Hall praised the defensive job of James, who face guarded Williams all night, limiting the star point guard to just 11 points and forcing her into some off-balance contested shots.
“Caroline was huge,” said Hall. “I felt like taking (Ari Williams) out of the game was a key because she is the engine of that team. She can penetrate, and draw fouls, and hit pull up jumpers. I felt like Caroline did a good job of shutting her down.”
Creek handed Arcadia its first loss since the Lady Hornets fell to Captain Shreve on December 27.
“It’s a reminder that we are good,” said Hall. “These girls will carry (that confidence) thru the playoffs and they should. I am confident in them.”
Alexander led Arcadia with 20 points, but was held scoreless in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Lady Cougars close out the regular season Friday when they host Jonesboro-Hodge.
