Lady Dogs fall to Ider
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JACKSONVILLE —A pair of 3-point baskets from the left side Brittany Spurgin to start the fourth quarter gave Ider the offensive spark it needed to bring Piedmont's season of unprecedented success to a close Friday night in the Class 2A girls Northeast Regional final. The Hornets outscored the Bulldogs by 14 points in the fourth to win 59-43.
Piedmont coach Matt Deerman called the loss, which dropped his team to 30-2, "a tough way to end the season. The girls played hard. I have no complaints about it. (Ider) hit some big shots in the third and fourth quarters and pulled away from us." Ahead 41-34 with 4:24 left, Ider coach Jamie Pruitt went to his delay. The Hornets did not score another point from the field but guards Hilary Phillips and Taylor Hawkins combined to go 18 of 23 at the free throw line. Phillips, named the tournament's MVP, was 11 of 15 at the line and finished with 25 points. The teams played evenly in the first quarter, ending 10-10. Sophomore Raven Prater was Piedmont's hot hand with three 3-point baskets. Pruitt quickly instructed his players to shift their attention to Prater. "I didn't get the ball as much after I hit those 3's," said Prater. "We just couldn't ever get anyone else hot," Deerman noted. A lot of that had to do with Ider's defense. Deerman felt the Bulldogs handled Ider's full-court press well. The half-court defense disrupted the flow of Piedmont's offense. "They didn't hurt us as much with the full-court pressure," said Deerman. "What they were doing was jumping at us at half court, trapping and dropping back to man-to-man. It was a different style, something we hadn't ever seen." The Bulldogs had quarters of ten, eight, 11 and five points — far below their usual production. Ahead 22-18 at halftime, Ider (23-9) opened the third quarter with a 3-point basket. Piedmont scored the next six points — a basket by Shalitha Swain, a free throw by Brooke Dixon and a trey by Heather Cain — to cut the deficit to 25-24. Baskets by Paige Smith and Jeleca Johnson made it 31-29 Ider after three quarters. Dixon led Piedmont with 12 points. Prater finished with nine, Both were all-tournament selections. Swain had seven, and Brittany Strott six. Swain led on the boards with eight as the Bulldogs out-rebounded the taller Hornets 34-31. Deerman had only positive things to say about his players when the contest ended. "They brought pride back to Piedmont," he said. "They have a lot to be proud of. They've set standards for our basketball program." |
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