Douglass and Franklin County roll into first-ever meeting with girls region crown at stake
The two best 11th Region girls basketball teams all season affirmed that standing with blowout wins in their region tournament semifinals matchups Thursday at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
Frederick Douglass (23-10), the defending region champion ranked No. 13 at the end of the regular season by the statewide Dave Cantrall Ratings, pulled away in the second half to a 66-40 victory over Madison Central. In the first semifinals game of the evening, No. 7 Franklin County (28-6) smothered Henry Clay 56-32.
Now, Douglass and Franklin County, the two winningest 11th Region girls programs of the last two seasons, will meet for the first time ever Saturday night to decide who will claim the region crown and go to next week’s Mingua Beef Jerky Girls Sweet 16.
Both have size and shooters. Both can play aggressive, stifling defense. And both have talented players already signed to play in college with Douglass 6-foot-2 center Ayanna-Sarai Darrington headed to Central Michigan and Franklin County 6-1 guard Rachel Shropshire going to Bellarmine.
Their coaches know the challenge ahead.
“It’s up to us to guard the way we’ve been guarding or we won’t be in the game,” Franklin County coach Joey Thacker said.
“Saturday, we’ve got to limit our turnovers. We’ve got to take care of the ball,” Douglass coach Daryl Moberly said. “We’re trying to get back to the state, and we’ve got to cherish this thing with your life.”
Big night for Broncos’ Maxwell
Douglass junior forward Amaya Maxwell scored a game-high 20 points, including four second-half 3-pointers to help spark the Broncos’ convincing win over Madison Central.
“She’s one of the players I press every day in practice because she has the potential to do that,” Moberly said. “We’ve just got to keep telling her to bring it and build that confidence.”
Maxwell hit three of her 3-pointers in the Broncos’ 23-10 third quarter run that blew open a game that was 24-17 at halftime.
“I knew I had to step up,” Maxwell said. “I was feeling good after that first one, and I heard our bench and stuff. It just felt good, and I kept hitting them.”
Douglass’s third-quarter run also included 10 points from Darrington, who had to sit out much of the first half because of two first quarter fouls.
“It was important to get her back in the groove. We had to get her going,” Moberly said. “We started hitting on all cylinders in the second half.”
Darrington finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, helping Douglass grab a 43-28 edge on the boards and rack up 16 second-chance points to Madison Central’s four. Miami King and Niah Rhodes each added 11 points.
Madison Central (19-12), the 44th District champs, shot 25.5 percent from the field to Douglass’s 54.7 percent. The Indians were led by Cameryn Ridderikhoff and Nataya Strader with 10 points each.
Franklin County too much for Blue Devils
Franklin County’s length and quickness on defense frustrated Henry Clay all night, but was no more evident than when the Flyers outscored their opponents 13-1 in the third quarter to essentially put the game away.
“I liked our energy and we will guard you. We’ve got to hang our hat on that,” Franklin County coach Thacker said. “I was proud of our ability to take some of the things they wanted to do away.”
Offensively, Franklin County shot 53.7 percent from the field and got 15 points from Madison Jackson, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 13 points from Juliana Frazee.
“I think we moved the ball well and we were very quick,” Jackson said. “We started off great and had a flow from the beginning.”
Henry Clay (22-11) shot just 27 percent from the field and committed 21 turnovers that led to 24 Franklin County points. Timarri Miller led the Blue Devils with 11 points.
Girls 11th Region Tournament
At Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Saturday’s finals
8 p.m.: Frederick Douglass (23-10) vs. Franklin County (28-6)
Tickets: $8 via gofan.com.
Streaming: glicod.com
