Sophomore’s last-second 3-pointer sends Douglass back to Girls’ Sweet 16
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- Sophomore Eiona Atkins sank a last‑second 3 to lift Douglass to a 46‑43 win.
- Jaelee Knowles led Douglass with 24 points and strong interior play.
- Douglass advances to the Girls’ Sweet 16 after key defensive stops and hustle.
When Frederick Douglass needed her most, sophomore reserve Eiona Atkins didn’t just make a play.
She made the play.
Atkins’ 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left — a swisher through the net from the college line at Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena — was the difference-maker Sunday night in Douglass’ 46-43 victory over Paul Laurence Dunbar in the 11th Region girls basketball championship game.
“It was win or go home,” Atkins said. “I just needed to do whatever I had to do to make my team go to state.”
Broncos head coach DJ Moberly drew up an inbounds play with 8.3 seconds left. Reagan Gregonis, the inbounder, would first look to paint for either Jaelee Knowles or Miami King, the latter of whom appeared to have gotten loose for a go-head layup right as Moberly was calling the timeout. As anticipated, they were smothered with defenders.
Mikalee “MK” Bennett received the inbound pass from Gregonis and had a decent look at a 3-pointer from the corner. But Atkins, who was left wide open at the top of the key after a backscreen set by Knowles before the inbound pass, had an even better one — and capitalized.
Dunbar, inbounding 94 feet away from its hoop after a timeout, got the ball across midcourt, but Bennett stripped it away to secure the victory.
Bennet finished with eight points (following 12- and nine-point efforts in the Broncos’ first round and semifinals, respectively) but earned tournament MVP honors in large part through her decision-making and hustle down the stretch.
“I could’ve took the shot, but I have faith in my teammates,” Bennett said. “She’s been doing good, so I wanted to pass it up and give it to her. She made it. Game.”
A young career full of adversity
Bennett and Atkins embraced as Dunbar called its final timeout. For Atkins — who was 0-for-4 from the field in 27 minutes off the bench before canning that one — it was as much a personal reward as a team one. As a highly touted middle-schooler in Lexington, Atkins tore the ACL in her right knee midway through her eighth-grade season at Douglass.
She then sat out all of last season recovering from that and a subsequent meniscus injury that followed. Atkins played in all but one of Douglass’ games this season.
“I’ve been out for two years. It means a lot,” Atkins said. “ … I’ve started playing a lot more toward the end of this season, and I feel 100 percent now. I put a whole bunch of work in for this.”
Fourth quarter gets tense
The Broncos (24-7) extended a four-point halftime lead to 12 late in the third quarter, and they led by seven by the end of it. A series of turnovers and missed shots opened the door for Dunbar’s rally.
After Douglass went up 41-33 with 7:45 to play, the Bulldogs (25-5) strung together a 10-2 run. Eriyaune Daniels, a junior also returning from a knee injury this season, hit a 3-pointer from the wing that tied the game at 43-43 with 2:14 to go.
Daniels had another good look from the opposite wing out of a timeout but couldn’t get it to connect with under 30 seconds to play. A potential rebound fell off the hands of a Bulldog and out of bounds, allowing for the Broncos’ decisive possession.
Dunbar bookended its season with losses to Douglass but they couldn’t have been more stark. The Bulldogs, who hadn’t been to the 11th Region tournament since 2020, lost 71-46 to Douglass at home to start their season.
“That was a great game, both teams fought hard,” said Dunbar head coach Erik Daniels. “We had a chance to take it from ’em but we just couldn’t hit the big shots. But I’m so proud of my girls. We just keep getting better.”
Douglass’ Knowles dominated early
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead, ignited by a quick 3-pointer from Eriyaune to start the game, but found themselves down nine late in the second quarter. They struggled to contain Broncos forward Jaelee Knowles, who scored nine of Douglass’ 11 points in the frame.
“It was working so they kept feeding me, that was all my teammates feeding me and telling me to keep working,” said Knowles, who finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Knowles, a 5-foot-11 junior, is a unique talent who’s likely to play a big role this week for Douglass if it’s to make another deep run in the Sweet 16. The Broncos fell to George Rogers Clark in the semifinals a year ago.
Moberly wants her to be more demanding of the ball and saw that on Sunday.
“Jaelee sometimes don’t understand she can take over a game,” Moberly said. “She’s so unselfish, and sometimes I beat her down for that. … When we need a bucket, we need to go to her, and I think she’s starting to realize that now. Hopefully it carries out to the state tournament.”
Next game
What: The Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls’ Basketball Sweet 16 State Tournament
Where: Rupp Arena
When: 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Matchup: Henderson County (24-9) vs. Frederick Douglass (24-7)