West Forsyth girls basketball finished fifth in Bell Davis Pitt Bracker of Mary Garber Holiday Tip-Off Classic

Published 8:29 am Thursday, November 28, 2024

The West Forsyth girls basketball team was seeded No. 8 in the Bell Davis Pitt Bracket of the Mary Garber Holiday Tip-Off Classic, so expectations were muted.

However, by seeding, West Forsyth exceeded expectations after winning two games and finished fifth after freshman Laila Jones led the team with 18 points to upend No. 7-seed Forsyth Country Day 58-53 in double overtime on Wednesday morning at Atkins High School.

That put a smile on first-year Coach Johnathan Gainey of the Titans.

“I wanted to get better as a team and I think we done that,” he said.

However, to finish fifth the team had to overcome some obstacles. It defeated East Wilkes in a consolation game Tuesday night and had to play the first game of the day Wednesday morning.

“If we make the shots, make more shots, that’s the key,” Gainey said. “We have to take that ball to the hole. If we make more shots how the game could’ve been changed. Defensively, I think we’re doing a good job defensively. We’re just going to have to have to be able to make shots. We do a lot of shooting drills in practice. Hopefully it’s going to transfer over eventually to a game.”

West Forsyth (2-1) also won its last two games after losing to top-seed and defending-champion North Wilkes 67-45 on Saturday.

“Playing North Wilkes in our first (game), knowing that’s going to be a tough game,” Gainey said. “Of course, everybody wants to win the tournament. And we weren’t able to win it, but only three teams are going to go 2-1 and we were one of them.”

On Wednesday, West Forsyth led FCD by as many as 11 points, but Gigi Lyons of FCD, who scored 16 points, nailed a 3-pointer with 2.1 second left in regulation to send the game to the first overtime.

FCD (2-6) set up an inbounds play after a timeout by Coach Ashton Fleming Oglesby. Lila Kelly, who picked up her fourth foul 7:48 left in the second quarter after she picked up a technical foul, received the inbounds pass, which set up a natural screen. Kelly dished it to Lyons, who hit the 3-pointer.

“It’s amazing,” Gainey said. “I told the girls going into the timeout, ‘Gigi is probably going to get it back.’ And sure enough, she did. And she knocked down the shot. It was a big shot. A great call from Coach Fleming. And we were just able to rebound from it.”

Neither team was able to do much at all offensively in the first overtime, scoring two points apiece.

“I told them when they came out, “Sometimes they last 32 minutes. Sometimes they last 36.’ Our game actually went 40. But we was able to compete the whole 40 minutes and we were able to come out with the victory.”

Brooklyn King banked in a shot just 18 seconds into the second overtime to get West Forsyth a 51-49 lead. However, Kelly banked in a shot with 3:29 left and Lyons hit a layup with 2:47 left to take a 53-51 lead.

However, Jones hit two free throws with 2:02 left to tie it, and she added a layup with 1:23 left to take a 55-53 lead.

“I definitely think we could’ve gotten like a bigger cushion just for ourselves,” Jones said. “But I’m kind of proud how we handled the situation.”

West Forsyth extended the lead to 57-53 after Emma Staples hit two free throws, However, with a chance to extend the lead late in the second overtime, Jones was fouled by Kelly, which meant Kelly fouled out, but Kelly missed both free throws.

“So, we have free-throw competitions,” Jones said. “So, we battle each other. So, I think we are going to be doing a lot more of that, like coming up on Saturday.”

Isabel Gil, who added 16 points for the Titans, was fouled with 18.2 seconds left. Gil missed the first three throw, but she made the second to push the lead to 58-53.

“That was the biggest key, just staying focused and don’t let the moment get too big,” Gainey said. “I know we was playing another team in our city (FCD is in Lewisville). The girls know each other. So, ‘The Clash of Clemmons’ as some people would call it, but we was able to come out on top and I’m proud of them.”

Kelly, who led FCD with 19 points, and didn’t return after her fourth foul until the beginning of the fourth quarter, scored 11 points in the first quarter to help give the Furies a 14-10 lead.

“She’s just a talent,” Gainey said of Kelly. “Some players, she’s one, she has a knack for the ball. And she can shoot it. She can put that ball on the floor and especially go right and finish. She’s just a hard person to guard one-on-one. So, we was able to play a zone to contain her a little bit and make her get the ball up a little more.

“But she was still able to get the ball to the basket, continued to flow well.”

Kelly sat throughout the second quarter, and West Forsyth took advantage and outscored FCD 20-7 in the second quarter to lead 30-23 at halftime.

Despite the momentum, the Titans couldn’t build the lead even more in the third quarter. Each team scored nine points apiece in the third quarter, and the Titans led 39-32 at the end of the third quarter.

“Sometimes when you anticipate somebody on the floor, she’s definitely an offensive threat,” Gainey said of Kelly. “But sometimes when that type of player goes off the floor a team loses focus. When she was on the floor, we knew where she was at all times. And I think sometimes you can take it for granted, that, ‘She’s gone. It’s easier.’ And actually, they played with a lot of heart while she was (off) the floor and made the game competitive.”

Kelly came back at the start of the fourth quarter to help FCD outscored West Forsyth 15-8 in the fourth quarter.

Staples, who chipped in with 13 points for the Titans, made two free throws with 11.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter to help take a 47-44 lead. But Lyons hit the 3-pointer 3.6 seconds later to send the game to overtime.

“We missed some shots we probably should’ve made, but at the same time they stayed focused,” Gainey said.

In the first game against North Wilkes, Jones led West Forsyth with 13 points. King chipped in with 13 rebounds. In Tuesday’s win against East Wilkes, King and Staples led 16 points apiece.

West Forsyth was scheduled to have played at home on Dec. 3 against Western Guilford and at Southern Guilford on Dec. 4. Central Piedmont 4-A play begins Dec. 10 at Glenn.

“I said before coming into the tournament I wanted to get better as a team, and I think we done that,” Gainey said.