FLOWERY BRANCH — Flowery Branch coach Courtney Newton knows games like Tuesday’s 50-43 win over Winder-Barrow could be the key to just how far her Class AAAAA top-ranked Lady Falcons can go in 2016-17.
“That’s a really good team, one of the best in the state,” Newton said. “We want to play teams like that so that we can get better. I was proud of how the girls responded in the second half.”
The Lady Falcons (6-1) rallied from an early first half deficit and then used a 9-1 fourth quarter run to pull away over the final 4:42 of the game. Junior Taniyah Worth capped the run with 7-consecutive points, the final basket coming on a steal and layup.
Class AAAAAA fourth-ranked Winder-Barrow (1-3) was without sophomore guard Chellia Watson but still had 2016 Class AAAAA Player of the Year Olivia Nelson-Ododa. But Newton called on a little-used zone to neutralize Ododa.
Ododa did finish with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks and helped the Lady Bulldoggs take a 36-35 lead after the third quarter. But the defensive change-up by Newton was more than effective as Ododa was held without a point in the fourth quarter and Winder managed just one field goal over the final 6:55 of the game.
“Olivia is so good that the only way we can really stop her is to go to the zone. We probably won’t use it again for a while because we prefer to play man-to-man,” Newton said. “I thought the girls executed what we wanted to do.”
A Caroline Wysocki fastbreak basket after a Queen Scott steal gave Flowery Branch a 41-40 advantage and the last of five lead changes in the fourth quarter.
“This group is showing that they really rise to the occasion (when things get tight),” Newton said. “We made some adjustments in the second half and the girls did a great job.”
Worth was not primarily guarded by the taller Ododa as the Flowery Branch offense focused on perimeter passes to open driving lanes. And she took advantage scoring a game-high 22 points, nine in the fourth quarter.
“Taniyah really showed out there that she can play with anybody,” Newton said. “I’m just proud of how she responded.”
Scott finished with 13 points, Lexi Sengkhammee added nine points, and Wysocki had six for the Lady Falcons.
It was a sloppy start for both teams, who combined for eight turnovers and just 10 points in the opening three minutes. The game was tied three times in the opening quarter at 2, 4, and 8. The Lady Bulldoggs generated the first run of the game behind Ododa, who sparked a 9-2 run with four points, two rebounds, and one steal, for a 17-10 lead.
But the Lady Falcons pulled within 17-15 to end the period behind Worth and Scott, who combined for five points and one assist. Flowery Branch opened the second quarter with a Scott basket to tie the game and then a Worth basket gave the Lady Falcons a 21-20 lead, their first since 2-0, midway through the period.
Both teams then used their defense over the final five minutes of the first half to generate runs. The Lady Bulldoggs’ Latrice Perkins capped a 5-0 run with a steal and layup for a 25-21 lead but Flowery Branch answered over the next minute with a 5-0 run, capped by a Sengkhammee 3-pointer, and would take a 26-25 lead into halftime.
Perkins added 10 points for the Lady Bulldoggs, eight coming in the second half. Sullivan finished with seven, but had just one point after halftime.
FLOWERY BRANCH BOYS 69
WINDER-BARROW 33
The Falcons stayed unbeaten in the early going with their biggest win of the season.
The Falcons (5-0) outscored Winder-Barrow (2-2) 31-6 in the second half as they used a big third quarter run to blow the game open.
Flowery Branch never trailed opening the game with a 5-0 run but the Bulldoggs battled back to tie the game at 11 midway through the first quarter. The Falcons closed out the period with a 10-5 spurt to take a 23-16 lead.
In the second quarter Winder-Barrow closed to within 27-23 but the Falcons closed out the first half with an 11-4 run, capped by a Brannon Clark steal and layup at the buzzer.
Flowery Branch then exploded to open the third quarter using a 12-2 spurt to begin the period for a 50-29 lead. The run was fueled by five straight steals by the defense.
Winder-Barrow never recovered as Flowery Branch did not allow a field goal in the fourth quarter as both teams emptied the bench with reserves.
Blake Coxworth and Caleb Murphy led Flowery Branch with 14 points apiece. Clark finished with 12 and Justin Quick had 10 for the Falcons, who had nine different players score.
Winder-Barrow was paced by 11 points from Terence Butler, but all 11 came in the first half.
