The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins and the HO Nash Lions three-peated as the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association’s senior and junior girls champions respectively.

The two teams were crowned yesterday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium in their third and deciding games as they joined the CC Sweeting Cobras and the DW Davis Royals, winners of the respective senior and junior boys’ titles on Tuesday.

While the Mystic Marlins prevailed with a 47-38 triumph over the CV Bethel Stingrays, the Lions roared past the TA Thompson Scorpions in a close 35-31 encounter.

• Here’s a summary:

Mystic Marlins 47,

Stingrays 38

With 54.9 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter, Tanea Bowleg canned a pair of free throws to put Doris Johnson ahead 43-38.

With 38.2 remaining, she went back to the charity line and sunk another pair for a 35-38 cushion to seal the deal. “I am so grateful to God for the victory. This is our third in a row. This is the first for our school. It’s never happened before. We also won the pennant, which is also history for our school, so we are going to celebrate,” said Mystic Marlins’ head coach Kavon Spence. “At the start of the season, we recognised that we were the class of the field, so we practiced and we worked hard to get this title.”

Spence said that as next year will be a rebuilding year, he advised all players coming out of the junior high schools to consider coming to Doris Johnson where they hope to make them champions too.

Bowleg was named the most valuable player, finishing with 19 points and three rebounds for the Mystic Marlins. She led two other players in double figures as Briontae Riley helped out with 13 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and three assists and Kristian Sands came up with 11 points and six rebounds. Aaliyah Johnson was a one-woman wrecking crew as she posted a game high 26 points with 12 rebounds, six steals and five block shots for the Stingrays.

Kizzy Evans had five, Breanna Dean four and Shanyhah Bowe three. “The girls who wanted it more took the game,” said CV Bethel’s head coach Glenda Gilcud. “I gave them some instructions, but the girls just didn’t follow it. Every time we took the lead, Doris Johnson was able to come back and they chipped away. We just had to fight to the end, but they wanted it more than we did.”

CV Bethel opened a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Doris Johnson bounced back to take a 23-19 lead into the half. They held onto a 33-29 margin at the end of the third and were able to stay ahead throughout the fourth to win another title.

Lions 35,

Scorpions 31

After taking a 30-21 lead at the end of the third quarter, coach Pattie Johnson had to dig down deep in her bag of tricks in the nail-biter.

HO Nash had lost their star player Glenna Sands to an injury that forced her out of the game in the fourth and that enabled TA Thompson’s 1-2 punch of Adina Webster and Sholonia Daxon to go to work.

The Scorpions would outscore the Lions 7-5 to cut the deficit to the final score on Daxon’s lay-up just before Sands returned to the game. Sands had a chance to score in the final seconds on a fast break, but she missed. Time, however, expired as TA Thompson tried to dribble for one last shot and HO Nash rushed to the court to celebrate.

“We went and practiced on some things and one of them was a trap,” said Lions’ head coach Pattie Johnson. “Number three (Webster) is an excellent player. She was beating us to pieces and No. 14 (Daxon), so we had to come out with something. We came out with the trap and it worked.”

Sands finished with a game high 25 points with six steals and five rebounds to earn the MVP award. Jaynae Newry was one of two other Lions’ players to score with six. The other was Esther Pierre with four.

“I wasn’t that scared,” said Johnson about the exit that Sands had to make. “What happened was I was trying to tell them to slow the ball down and spread it out. But they tried to rush it.”

After winning it, Johnson said it’s a great feeling.

“They worked hard for this one,” she said. “I have some seven graders so I will see what happens after this.”

The Scorpions only had three players in double figures as Webster led their attack with 16, Daxon contributed 13 and Nathayla Lightbourne chipped in with four.

“We fell short, but the referees really hurt us. They showed that they have some personal vendetta against some of my players, so I’m very disappointed in the way the referees called the game,” said Scorpions’ head coach Donnovette Scavalla.

HO Nash led the entire game after taking an 11-6 margin at the end of the first quarter and they held onto a 19-12 advantage at the half.