ERWIN – South Greene played a tightly contested first half, but figured out a way to pull away in the second half for a 64-42 win over Happy Valley in Monday night’s District 1-2A Third-Place Consolation Game.
“I felt like they executed well and we moved the ball to the extra person tonight. Overall, I’m pretty pleased,” South Greene Head Coach Stephen Gregg said.
Without Kortnei Bailey, the job wouldn’t have gotten done. She provided a game-high 35 points for her second game of 30+ points in the tournament. She was money from outside the perimeter and sank eight three-point buckets.
“Kortnei had a heck of a game tonight,” Coach Gregg bragged. “She’s really stepped up. Unfortunately, she’s not been healthy all year to do that on a regular basis. She has the capacity to do that night-in and night-out.”
The win sends South Greene on the road to Alcoa for Friday night’s Region 1-2A quarterfinal matchup.
Kymber Pruitt started with a three-pointer for Happy Valley before the Lady Rebels responded back with seven-straight. Paisley Brobeck got a mid-range to fall on the baseline, Kortnei Bailey came away with a steal and assisted Natalie Foshie for a layup, then Bailey sank her first three from the corner.
Bailey added five more to end the quarter as the Lady Rebels held a small 12-8 lead at the end of the frame.
The Lady Warriors didn’t shy away from the challenge and started the second with a 10-0 run to take a six-point lead. Shaniece Gardner went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, Bailee Jarrett and Alex Moore both drained triples, and Cayden Anderson scored three with an and-one play.
South Greene then responded with their own 10-0 run. Brobeck knocked down a pair of free throws, Bailey caught fire from behind the line and hit back-to-back corner threes, and Ari Hoese finished the run with a long mid-range.
Happy Valley won the rest of the quarter 7-5 to pull within two at the break. South Greene led 27-25 at halftime.
“They were hitting shots and hanging around. It was a little bit of a mind game. You force them into 28 turnovers and you only have 10 and they’re within striking distance,” Coach Gregg mentioned.
The lead grew larger in the third with 14 points from Kortnei Bailey. She started the quarter with an offensive put-back off her own missed three. It was one of her only misses from three as she stripped the nets for three-straight threes. She ended the quarter with an and-one to prove she could provide three-point plays in more ways than one.
“We realized they were going to box-and-one her. So, we tried to run some sets with her right before half. The team executed three different plays to get her open. That’s another plus on the night,” Gregg explained.
South Greene extended their lead to 42-33.
While Bailey was praised for her scoring and shooting, she wasn’t the only one to light it up from the perimeter. Nevaeh Davis nailed back-to-back threes and hit a third later in the corner to essentially seal their win.
Natalie Foshie, Paisley Brobeck, Madison Fillers, and Macy Roberts helped score in the fourth to add to the lead.
South Greene finished the tournament with a third-place finish and travel to play District 2-2A runner-up Alcoa in Friday night’s Region 1-2A opener.
