Ridgeland-Hardeeville Jaguars defeat Battery Creek Dolphins in pivotal victory
The Ridgeland-Hardeeville girls basketball team notched a pivotal victory Tuesday night at Battery Creek High School, using a healthy dose of full-court pressure defense and a little bit of everything from junior point guard Quanajia Drayton to knock off the host Dolphins, 58-49.
The victory pulls the Jaguars into a first-place tie with Battery Creek atop Region 8-3A with two region games remaining. If the teams are still tied for first at the end of the regular season, a neutral-court tiebreaker will be played to determine the top seed for the playoffs.
If the Jaguars end up securing that top seed, they might point back to the second and third quarter of Tuesday’s game as the reason. Ridgeland-Hardeeville (14-5 overall, 5-1 region) found its shooting touch in the second quarter, and then cranked up the press in the third quarter to force 15 Battery Creek turnovers and break open the game.
That pressure was standard procedure for coach Frederick Toomer’s squad.
“As of late, it is,” Toomer said. “We’re trying to — headed into the playoffs — get into that mode.”
Drayton and Shania Douglas each had three steals in the third to give the Jaguars a 48-24 lead going into the final quarter. When Battery Creek’s Taquasha Lampkin and Brianna Tolbert both picked up their fourth foul in the middle of the third, the Jaguars knew they were in control.
“We were paying attention to when the ball-handlers were in and out,” Toomer said, “trying to increase the pressure.”
All told, the Jaguars forced Battery Creek (12-5 overall, 5-1 region) into 28 turnovers — but none in the fourth quarter, when they backed off the press a bit and the Dolphins made a spirited comeback.
Jayden Thompson scored nine points in the fourth, and Kendriana Shojgreen scored all eight of her points in the final quarter for the Dolphins, who cut the deficit to seven points in the final minute. But Drayton steadied the Jaguars by controlling the basketball and knocking down a couple of free throws to secure the victory.
She showed composure and hustle all night long, which didn’t come as a surprise to Toomer.
“She did, and that’s what she does for us,” he said.
“She’s been with me since her freshman year — she’s a junior now,” he added. “She’s our main ball-handler, she’s usually our high scorer, she’s in the top two or three rebounders, so she contributes a lot to the team.”
Tuesday, she contributed 13 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and a handful of assists. Timothea Green led the Jaguars with 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Douglas added 11 points and four steals, and Jamee Mack chipped in 12 points — 10 in the second quarter, when the Jaguars outscored the Dolphins 25-9.
Thompson had a game-high 18 points for Battery Creek, and Lampkin nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots before fouling out in the fourth. Tolbert finished with five points, seven rebounds and three steals, and Dasani Dilbert added six rebounds and five steals in the loss.
This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Ridgeland-Hardeeville Jaguars defeat Battery Creek Dolphins in pivotal victory."