‘We just kept pushing.’ Douglass rallies from 16 down to upset one of Kentucky’s top teams.
The second week of January is a little early to have the biggest win of your season.
But since No. 12 Frederick Douglass might have had the biggest win in the six-year history of its girls’ basketball program with its 73-66 upset of No. 6 George Rogers Clark on Wednesday at The Farm, it’s worth noting.
More amazingly, the Broncos pulled off the stunner after trailing by as many as 16 points just past midway through the third quarter. They outscored Clark 44-21 over the final 11½ minutes.
“We didn’t get down (on ourselves),” said sophomore guard Niah Rhodes, who led four Broncos in double figures with 19 points. “Even when we were down double digits, nobody held their head. We were all like ‘C’mon y’all.’”
George Rogers Clark, the defending 10th Region champion, features Brianna and Ciara Byars, sisters who pose matchup nightmares for their opponents with their length and athleticism. Clark closed the first half on a 6-0 run and started the second half on a 9-0 run and a 43-28 lead that stretched to 47-31 with 3:30 to play in the third. Ciara and Brianna finished with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
“They were getting a lot of steals and we were turning it over,” Rhodes said. “We just had to come together (and) stay strong with the ball.”
Kate Baker had a fast break layup and foul shot in the closing seconds of the third quarter that capped a rally that included a pair of tough inside buckets and a steal by point guard Myra Christian to help Douglass cut its deficit to 52-46 to start the fourth.
“We just kept pushing,” Christian said. “I just knew that we could do it.”
Rhodes made her fourth three-pointer of the game to cut Clark’s lead to 55-53 and followed that up moments later with a fast break layup and foul shot for a 56-55 lead with 6:23 to play. Douglass converted stops into fast-break points to help seal the victory the rest of the way.
“We got a couple of stops, got a couple of big plays and Mikalee Bennett came off the bench and gave us some big-time minutes,” Douglass Coach Daryl Moberly said.
Baker scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half to go with 16 from Christian, 12 from Ayanna Darrington and six points in the fourth quarter by Bennett.
Douglass has played a string of top 25 foes this season and defeated Madison Central, one of the 11th Region’s other top contenders, on Saturday. Moberly said he never saw his team’s confidence waiver Wednesday night.
“We stayed with our plan. We didn’t give up at all,” Moberly said. “I felt like when we went down by 16 and I saw the look on their faces, I turned to (my assistant) and said, ‘Coach, we’re still in it.’”
Clark Coach Robbie Graham made no excuses for his Cardinals (12-5).
“We just didn’t guard the ball well and fouled way too much,” he said. “There were all kinds of mistakes. Everything went haywire all at once.”
He was not surprised by Douglass’s effort.
“We knew they would be ready to go, and I knew they were looking for a signature win,” Graham said. “We’ll get better. There’s a lot of basketball to be played. You never want to lose, but if we learn, we’ll get better.”
Frederick Douglass (11-6) won’t have much time to savor the win. Among the Broncos’ upcoming opponents are district rival Henry Clay on Friday, No. 13 North Laurel on Saturday, No. 21 Notre Dame on Jan. 27 and No. 2 Cooper on Feb. 10.
If Douglass is to pull off any more upsets this season to go with its goals of a district and region title, it will have to stick to Moberly’s philosophy. It’s panning out so far.
“Hard work pays off,” Moberly said. “We get in here and try to maximize our time every time we get in the gym. Every time we’re in the gym I tell them, ‘Let’s get something out of it.’”
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 8:28 AM.
