After Giving Up Lead, Shaker Guts Out Road W Over Troy

December 18, 2018

Shaker 47, Troy 44 (OT)

The host Flying Horses of Troy played from behind for nearly the entirety of Tuesday's contest against visiting Shaker, but they continued to do enough to hang around. It paid off late, as they were able to claw all the way back and even take a late lead, eventually forcing an overtime session. However, it was Shaker's pressure that busted pipes in the waning moments, and they were able to turn defense into offense to escape with a league victory.

Solé Carrington finished with 14 points and was a major factor at both ends in Shaker's win.

A slow start - both in pace and on the scoreboard - went Shaker's way as they stifled their opponents for a long stretch of the first half. Troy opened up the scoring with a Jenalyse Alarcon (Troy 2021) layup a minute into the game, but would only be able to muster an Alarcon free throw in the quarter besides that. After a Julia DeBeatham (Shaker 2020) three gave Shaker an 8-2 lead, both teams went without a field goal for the last 3:39 of the 1st as Shaker ended it with a 9-3 edge. They quickly extended their lead to double digits in the 2nd quarter, as DeBeatham scored and Kaelah Carter (Shaker 2022) knocked down a three to provide a 14-3 edge. Troy was then able to claw back into it with the combination of a solid defensive effort - holding Shaker to 3 points in the last 6+ minutes of the half - and the production of Jakaiya Dewer (Troy 2021). She was able to get in the teeth of Shaker's zone and use her athleticism to attack the rim, scoring 6 in the quarter, and an Amaya George jumper cut Troy's deficit to 17-14 going into halftime.

An Alaina Holmes (Troy 2020) bucket to start the 3rd cut their deficit to 1, but Shaker took over from there as they threatened to put Troy into a deep hole. They quickly reeled off 7 straight points, 5 coming from Solé Carrington (Shaker 2021), and she continued to produce as her 8 points in the quarter helped Shaker extend their lead back to 10 late in the stanza. Holmes & Alarcon split free throws in the last minute of the quarter, cutting Troy's deficit to 7 entering the 4th. The run continued as Shaker was held scoreless for over 6 minutes to start the 4th. Holmes scored to start the quarter, Dewer added a three, and Alarcon scored back-to-back buckets, the second being a driving left-handed layup to put Troy up 36-34 with 2:43 left. The lead changed hands three more times in the waning moments - a DeBeatham three, another Alarcon basket, and a Maddy Malicki (Shaker 2019) layup off a baseline out of bounds play all were go-ahead points. A Carrington steal with under 30 seconds left but Shaker in good position to take it home, with Troy having to play the foul game. Eventually they sent DeBeatham to the line, who split a pair to give Shaker a 40-38 lead with :17.5 remaining. On the other end, Carrington was whistled for a hand check as Nadia Brown (Troy 2021) started to drive, sending Brown to the line. She calmly drained a pair with :11.5 left to tie it up, and Shaker's last second desperation attempt was off to send it to overtime.

Jenalyse Alarcon had 11 of her 14 after halftime and played a key role in Troy's comeback, scoring go-ahead baskets three separate times in the game's final minutes.

The lead went back & forth throughout overtime as well. Carrington split free throws, and Brown scored for Troy to give the Flying Horses the lead back. Malicki was then sent to the line on two separate occasions 10 seconds apart - both after Troy turnovers - and she split each time for Shaker, eventually giving them a 1 point lead with a minute remaining. Alarcon scored again after grabbing an offensive rebound - her 3rd go-ahead basket of the game during crunch time minutes - but Carrington got by her initial defender on the other end and drew contact, getting back to the line where she split a pair to tie it up. After a bit of controversy over a timeout call, Troy had to inbound on their own baseline. The errant pass was tipped by Carrington and bounced right to Malicki next to the basket, who finished to give Shaker a 46-44 lead with just over 15 seconds remaining. Harassment in the backcourt turned into another Troy turnover, and Carter split a pair of free throws - the 5th time in the OT period that Shaker split at the line - to give them a 3 point edge. Holmes took it the length of the court, but her contested last second three point attempt was off, giving Shaker a hard fought W.

Solé Carrington & Julia DeBeatham each scored 14 points to pace Shaker in the scorebook. Carrington had 8 of those come in a strong 3rd quarter, where DeBeatham had 5 herself. Carrington added 3 rebounds & 5 steals, and DeBeatham contributed 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Jenalyse Alarcon led the way for Troy with 14 points, 11 coming in the 2nd half & overtime, including three go-ahead baskets. Jakaiya Dewer added 9 points, and Alaina Holmes contributed 8 with 6 coming in a strong 3rd quarter.

Julia DeBeatham finished with 14 points and provided a steady presence for Shaker, proving to be especially important after Troy put pressure on them with their comeback bid.

#JeffsNotes

- The scoreboard generally had a direct relationship with the pace of play. Although cold shooting and some turnovers - forced & unforced - had a role in the slow start, I thought amount of possessions was the biggest reason. Most of the first half was played mainly in the half court, with each team going deep into the shot clock against their opponent's zone defense. Possessions were at a minimum compared to most games. The game opened up considerably more coming out of the locker room and was played a bit more uptempo, and the offensive production followed.

- Shaker's backcourt of Solé Carrington & Julia DeBeatham got it done for them, and they were a major reason they walked out of the gym with a win. They combined for over 60% of their team's points, which of course is important, but it was far beyond that. Carrington provided stingy, physical ball pressure that you could see bothered some of Troy's guards. She gets burnt with foul trouble sometimes because of it - had 4 fouls in this game, mainly when she got a little overzealous with the pressure and tossed a hand check or tried to go for a steal - but you'll put up with that to have her energy, toughness, ability to defend & frustrate ballhandlers, and the high number of steals and seemingly countless tips & deflections she's responsible for. Her pressure forced several turnovers against Troy's guards in the waning moments of the 4th quarter & overtime, and they're not at that point without her. DeBeatham has shown growth mentally, and it seems like the 3rd year varsity starter knows it's her time to lead. She knocked down big shots when Shaker needed them, and she calmed her young team down and controlled pace with the ball in her hands when needed. A solid performance with some big moments from these two were instrumental in Shaker's run.

4th year varsity starter Alaina Holmes will continue to be a cornerstone piece over the next couple years as Troy lays the groundwork with its young talent.

- Troy is coming along... turning a program around is far from an overnight thing. They'll graduate two guards in the rotation this winter, but besides that, it'll be the same team coming back for another year. It does help when you can build around players with talent like Jenalyse Alarcon & Alaina Holmes, but those other players - Jakaiya Dewer, Nadia Brown, Makya Chapman, etc. - are showing that they're coming along and all are playing pretty hard for their new coach. They almost nipped Shaker at home tonight... they could sneak up on a couple teams this winter and get wins you wouldn't expect. Regardless, looking forward to seeing their development as it looks like they could be a solid group in coming years.