THOMASVILLE — It was a cross town battle on Thursday night and the Brookwood Warriors claimed victory from beyond the arc. They rained threes down on the heads of the Thomasville Bulldogs as both the girls and the boys cruised to victory.
The Lady Warriors got off to a bit of a rough start as Thomasville was finding open shots and began to knock them down, quickly building a 6-2 lead. The Lady Dogs’ excellent passing continued to catch the Brookwood defense off guard, leading to Dallas Hill and Jabria Richardson drilling consecutive open threes. Carriyona Williams was able to secure a couple of points for the Lady Warriors early in the quarter, but the Brookwood offense struggled against the tough Thomasville defense and the first quarter ended with Thomasville on top 12-3.
Whatever coach Jerry Ridley told his girls in that end quarter huddle must have hit home, because the Lady Warriors went off to start the second. Ainsley Jacobson came out firing and immediately knocked down back-to-back threes. Emma Rhodes decided she wanted in on the offensive action and drained a thee of her own and just like that the game was tied at 12.
Brookwood was able to take a two point lead, but Thomasville locked down on defense, executing an effective full court press. Jakayla Garland gave the Lady Dogs the lead with a much needed three, but Williams, as she’s done so many times before, got the steal and took it to the hole to tie it at 16. A mid-range jumper by Jacobson gave Brookwood a two point lead and they headed into halftime clinging to a slim lead after an epic half of basketball.
Brookwood didn’t miss a beat out of the half as Maddie Duncan knocked down a shot on a baseline drive. Thomasville, however, would not go quietly and battled back to make it a one point game, 21-20.
Brookwood’s Kayla Lewis decided she wasn’t too comfortable with that one point lead and took it upon herself to extend it. Lewis put down a second chance basket and then, on the ensuing possession, buried a three bringing the fans to their feet and increasing the Lady Warriors lead to six.
While the Thomasville shooters continued to struggle, Brookwood’s offense was cooking. Morgan Boggs found Rhodes on a beautiful base line cut while Jacobson took her skills inside, putting the step on her defender and draining the easy layup.
Rhodes had the ball on a string as she found Williams on an incredible assist that put an exclamation point on a phenomenal third frame for the Lady Warriors. They led 32-21 headed into the final quarter.
Lewis started off the fourth with a three, but after that the Thomasville defense got tougher. They became more aggressive and locked in on the ball. The aggressive approach gave the Lady Dogs some scoring opportunities and they began to mount a comeback, though Brookwood was able to maintain their lead.
With 1:48 left in the game an outlet pass found Thomasville’s Richardson and with an easy layup she cut the Brookwood lead to five. But, the Lady Warriors would not be denied as they knocked down their free throws and when the horn sounded Brookwood claimed a hard fought 39-29 victory, improving to 12-2 on the season.
The boys game wasn’t nearly as close as the Warriors seemed to dominate from start to finish. They set the tone early as Walker Jackson threw down a two handed jam in the opening seconds. After that, fans could tell it would be a long night for the Bulldogs. Jordyn Jean put an exclamation point on that fact with back-to-back threes, giving Brookwood an 8-0 lead in under a minute. The Warriors went on to score four more unanswered points leading to Bulldogs coach Kiel Angry calling a timeout down 12-0 with 3:05 left in the first.
Keymon Jefferson came out of the timeout and drew a foul. He went one of two from the line to give Thomasville their first point of the game. But, Jean responded by draining his third triple of the quarter. Thomasville’s Xavier Burkes Jr. went on to get the Bulldogs their only field goal of the quarter and the first frame ended with Brookwood up 15-4.
In the second, Thomasville continued to miss shots as if there was a lid on the basket. Meanwhile, Brookwood couldn’t miss as Will Stevens nailed a corner three. Second chance buckets came easy for the Warriors as they seemed to dominate the Bulldogs on the boards. Roscoe Jones made his presence known with three consecutive baskets, culminating in a one-handed slam that sent the Brookwood student section into a frenzy. The Warriors headed into half time with a very comfortable 32-10 lead.
Stevens came out of halftime with a three, picking up where the Warriors left off. Jackson was doing work on the other side, taking everything from the Bulldogs and giving nothing back as he blocked three consecutive shots in the paint. Jean and Jones continued the scoring onslaught with back-to-back threes and Thomasville could do nothing to stop them as Jackson punctuated the inevitable victory with a slam. At the end of the third, the Warriors led 51-18.
As the fourth quarter began, Brookwood sent in the subs and cruised to a 58-30 victory, improving to 16-2 on the season with two victories over Thomasville.
Next up for the Warriors is region opponent Valwood on Tuesday, January 23. As for the Bulldogs, they will look for a bounce back victory against nearby foe Brooks County.