11th Region girls: Henry Clay survives upset bid; Franklin Co. cruises

Tournament bracket

With standout senior guard T’laya Lyvers out with the flu, the Henry Clay Blue Devils looked nothing like the team that won the 42nd District title last week.

Gone was the press. Gone was the tenacious man-to-man defense. That is until Coach Eric Sanford told them it was time to step it up or go home.

“They got us out of sync early,” Sanford said of the Bulldogs. “We challenged (his team) at halftime and said that if (the game) ends like it started, there is no more.”

Down 20-15 at half, freshman Destyne Jackson scored four points her team’s six unanswered points to get the Devils back in it at 21-20 and followed with six of Henry Clay’s first eight points in a key stretch of the fourth quarter as the Devils (21-9) survived an upset bid from city rival Paul Laurence Dunbar (11-19) in a 39-34 opening round win in the 11th Region girls’ tournament Monday in Paul S. McBrayer Arena.

“Destyne Jackson stepped up and made some big plays for us,” Sanford said. “We’ve been harping on her all year long that (she) had the ability to do it. Tonight, she did it when we needed it.”

With 1:13 left in the third quarter, Mashayla Cecil, who menaced Henry Clay’s man-to-man defense the entire first half, put the Bulldogs up 26-23. Cecil had scored Dunbar’s first 15 points, but had been shut out since the halftime break to that point.

Seconds later Henry Clay’s Lexi Long answered with a three pointer to tie it at 26 going into the fourth quarter.

Henry Clay, which had played noticeably soft on defense for much of the game, suddenly picked up the pace. Another jumper by Long off an offensive rebound gave the Devils a 28-26 lead to start the fourth. Henry Clay set up full-court pressure and immediately got a turnover. Then it got another to erase a missed basket. Jackson followed with a driving bucket for 30-26 lead. Cecil got blocked on Dunbar’s next possession, setting up a Braxton Price fast-break layup for 32-26. And Jackson capped the 8-0 run with a steal at half court and another fast-break layup to make it 34-26.

“I was nervous to be honest,” Jackson said of her key possessions. “This shows what we can do even if we have players missing. … We basically decided that we needed to pick it up or we would be going home.”

Franklin County 75, Madison So. 52

Franklin County wasted little time setting the tone for what it hopes to be a second straight 11th Region girls’ title by routing first-round opponent Madison Southern.

The Flyers’ relentless pressure, whether in their matchup zone in the half court or occasional full court pressure rattled the Eagles from the outset as Madison Southern committed five turnovers in the first quarter as Franklin County jumped to at 20-4 lead at the first break.

“I thought we got out of the gate well,” Flyers Coach Joey Thacker said. “We’ve had some not-so-smooth starts this season. … When Princess (Stewart) and Rebecca (Cook) get out in the open floor like that, as versatile as they are, it puts defenses in a bind.”

In the second quarter the Flyers pushed the pace on every missed Madison Southern shot and turnover, creating a 12-0 run that included 10 consecutive fast-break points and extended the lead to 36-10.

“Ninety percent of these kids played point guard in middle school,” Thacker said. “So that allows us that, if you’ve got it, you’ve got the freedom to take off with it. … We’ve got a pretty good track team too.”

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 11:06 PM with the headline "11th Region girls: Henry Clay survives upset bid; Franklin Co. cruises."