RFA Turns Up Pressure to Hold Off Proctor

December 17, 2019

Rome Free Academy 44, Proctor 32

Tuesday's schedule featured absolutely nothing in Section 2, where the inclement weather caused a complete wipeout in a slate of over 30 games, so that called for a trip 'back home' to the Mohawk Valley, where several local schools toughed it out and played. This included RFA & Proctor, who kept the always-fun Rome vs. Utica battle on. In a game that featured particularly young rosters for both sides, RFA seized control with a 2nd quarter run and maintained breathing room to the finish line, holding off a host Proctor squad that continued to compete.

The 1st quarter featured three ties & four lead changes, as both teams traded buckets & stops in a jagged start. RFA was the beneficiary at the free throw line early, scoring their last five points of the quarter from there thanks to Proctor committing seven team fouls at the start. After Lleneila Rodriguez (Proctor 2023) scored twice to give Proctor an edge, Amya McLeod (RFA 2023) went 4/4 from the line late in the quarter, the second pair giving the Knights a 10-8 lead going into the 2nd. RFA extended a run deep into the 2nd, scoring the first eight points of the frame while holding Proctor scoreless for nearly eight minutes in all. A pair of Areyona Davis FTs capped RFA's run at 12-0 - including 8/8 from the line, six from McLeod. Proctor made a push late in the half, with Rodriguez scoring at the rim to start a 6-0 spurt that included two free throws and a basket from Tamia Brown (Proctor 2022). RFA went into the locker room up 20-14 after a Tailyn Frost (RFA 2022) basket.

Amya McLeod spent plenty of time in the paint for RFA, finishing with a game high 16 pts (8/8 FT) in their win.

Proctor went 2-3 out of the locker room, and Frost started the 2nd half by banging a corner three to get RFA going. Proctor cut the deficit back to six, but a 6-0 spurt featuring a pair of McLeod baskets put the Knights up double digits again. The hosts only cut the deficit to single digits once more in the game, when a pair of Rodriguez free throws in the final seconds of the 3rd made the score 31-22 in favor of RFA. The 4th quarter started the same way the 3rd did, with Frost canning a three, and another McLeod driving basket gave RFA their largest lead of 14 at 36-22. They hit that margin once more after a pair of McLeod free throws in the final minute, but Proctor couldn't get any closer than 10 in the 4th as the teams traded baskets at the end like they did at the start.

The youngsters ruled the roost in this contest. Amya McLeod finished with a game high 16 points for RFA, shooting 8/8 from the line in the process. Tailyn Frost added 9 for the visitors, including a pair of 2nd half threes. Lleneila Rodriguez paced the Raiders with 13 points, and Tamia Brown added 8 for Proctor. In all, freshmen/sophomores produced 49 of the game's 76 points, including all of the aforementioned four.

Lleneila Rodriguez led the way for Proctor, finishing with 13 points.

#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline

- RFA got one on a night that probably was far from their best offensive showing. Outside of the two Frost threes to start the 3rd & 4th quarters, they were 0-for-whatever from deep, and they missed a ton at/around the rim. They were still able to take care of business after establishing control with the 2nd quarter run though, thanks in part to a steady defensive performance. They kept Proctor in single digits each quarter besides the 4th, where a Raider hit a jumper just before the buzzer to give them 10 in the frame. Also, one place the visitors didn't miss much Tuesday was the free throw line, going 16/20 on the night. As mentioned above, that included 8/8 from Amya McLeod, which is big considering the amount of time she can spend there with her explosive, downhill style.

Tailyn Frost hit a pair of threes and chipped in with 9 points in RFA's win Tuesday.

- To be honest, especially without Ari Staton in uniform, Proctor competed better than I thought they would. They played from behind most of the way, but they competed basically every possession from start to finish. This has been an issue with some Proctor teams I've seen in the past, but this group battled last night, which was good to see. I mentioned that RFA struggled to finish around the rim, and part of that is on them, but part of it is also that athletic help was generally there or in the area at the rim. Imani Penny, their tallest/longest starter, was having a little block party for the first few minutes before she started to get into some foul trouble. They battled on the glass, and although they struggled offensively, they stayed in it with a pretty solid half-court defensive effort on their end. All good signs for a team with a couple freshmen & a sophomore in the starting lineup.

- Tuesday's main scoring punches are varsity returners, but new to the whole high school thing - both freshmen. Amya McLeod (RFA) & Lleneila Rodriguez (Proctor) both were thrust into a great deal of action last year as 8th graders, and more is expected of each this year as they look to help lead their teams in the backcourt... it looks like both are delivering. Amya's explosive athleticism was unmatched in this game, as she used it to go downhill & get paint touches time and time again offensively, and she was a pest on the ball defensively as well. Her ability to draw help defense, keep her head up & make controlled passes to shooters or diving bigs after going full speed into the paint also gave open looks to teammates on many occasions, and it showed some of what her progression has been in 2019. Lleneila has progressed quite a bit herself over the last year, and she looks a great deal more confident. She ran the offense at the PG spot, made everyone calmer & everything run more smoothly with the ball in her hands, and she also packed the main scoring punch for the Raiders, getting to the rim & also showing the jumper when given space. Good to see both in action last night.

- Two trips back to the Utica area in a row where I haven't indulged in any Utica food. No riggies, no greens, no Utica pizza... all I've done is 'wake the hell up' with Utica Coffee Roasting Co.. Who am I? Do I lose Valley points for this? Next trip, I'm going all out. Twitter might see it too!