Tick, tick, tick.
Laura Lee Holman will be counting the minutes until the next time her New Hope High School girls basketball team plays Oxford.
Judging from the way the Lady Trojans played Friday night, everyone could be in store for a game that puts them on the edges of their seats.
More than three weeks after losing by 29 points in Oxford, New Hope handled the pressure defense much better save for one stretch in the third quarter that proved too much to overcome in a 72-61 loss in a Class 5A, Region 3 matchup.
“We practiced to beat Oxford for three weeks since the last time we played them,” Holman said. “These kids really have committed, and they know Oxford stands in our way of getting further in the playoffs, or having an easier road to win the district championship and to play that first round here. That is all we talk about: Beating Oxford.”
Romeo Johnson had 19 points and Justin Fondren added 18 to help the Oxford boys clinch the top seed in the district tournament with a 64-58 victory.
In the girls game, the win helped Oxford (23-0, 6-0 region), the state’s No. 2 team in Class 5A behind nationally ranked Lanier, complete a perfect region slate and close the book on a top seed for the region tournament, which will be in two weeks in Oxford.
Erika Sisk had a game-high 23 points to lead Oxford, while Jasmine Patton had 18 points and Aulyshia Booker added 15.
Kaitlyn Bradley had 21 points off the bench to lead New Hope, which was coming off a loss Tuesday at region rival West Point. D.J. Sanders added 18 points and Lauren Holifield had 10 for the Lady Trojans, which led 33-30 at halftime and rode the momentum of a spirited crowd that packed one side of the gymnasium.
“The last time we played them we couldn’t get the ball past halfcourt,” Holman said. “We have been scrimmaging the JV boys team every day in that same type of press. Being pressured every day for 30 or 45 minutes at practice has made a huge difference. It is all about these girls and their determination and their heart. They refuse to settle. They just want to get better and better and better. They are just so much fun to coach.”
Unfortunately, New Hope fell victim to another bad quarter. Oxford defeated New Hope 79-50 on Jan. 6 in Oxford. The Lady Chargers used a 26-4 second quarter to take a 41-22 halftime lead. Every other quarter was close, which gave Holman reason to be optimistic her team could stay in the game if it took care of the basketball.
This time, New Hope (18-5) had to play most of the third quarter without Sanders, an athletic player who plays a key role in breaking pressure defense. Sanders went to the bench with 6 minutes, 54 seconds remaining in the quarter with her fourth foul. New Hope’s Moesha Calmes also was foul trouble in the quarter. Without Sanders and Calmes, Oxford helped force 20 turnovers in the quarter and pushed the advantage to 58-43 with eight minutes remaining.
“Our goal is for you to get sick and tired of it after a certain amount of time and then start making those mistakes,” Oxford coach Shayne Linzy said. “Whether it is a steal by us or it is a bad pass or a walk, I think we got a couple of five-second counts, and that is what the press is all about. I have nine players I rotate in and out, so you better be in shape because we’re going to run.”
New Hope twice cut its deficit to five, both on shots by Bradley with less than 1:30 to play, but time ran out on the comeback.
In the boys game. New Hope, which also lost to West Point on Tuesday, missed 18 free throws in the game, including seven in the fourth quarter when Oxford (18-7, 5-1) struggled to put the game away.
New Hope coach Drew McBrayer said his team typically shoots free throws at a much higher percentage, but he said his squad needs to execute better, especially in time-and-score situations if it is going to extend its season beyond the region tournament.
New Hope will be the No. 2 or the No. 3 seed in the region tournament depending on the outcome of its game Tuesday against West Point in Columbus. The teams will meet again the following week in the region tournament in Oxford.
“The kids fought hard and played hard,” McBrayer said. “I thought the energy was there, but there is also that other part of the game when you have to make free throws to win the game.”
New Hope trailed 60-53 before Lawrence Brown (12 points) hit 1 of 2 free throws with 3:43 to play to cut it six. Oxford had three turnovers and a missed shot in its next four possessions, but New Hope committed two turnovers, missed a shot and went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line and missed its chance to prevent the Chargers from clinching the top seed for the region tournament.
“We have got to make plays at the end of ballgames, and we just didn’t do it tonight,” said McBrayer, whose team slipped to 3-2 in the region. “We had so many opportunities to be able to do it, but we just couldn’t scratch away.”
Jason Tate led New Hope with a game-high 26 points. Jock Pilgrim added 12.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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