Lovejoy Lady Wildcats throttle Harrison in fourth quarter to win first state title

The Lady Wildcats struggled offensively for most of the game, and trailed at halftime and after three quarters. Yet, they relied on their trademark defense in the fourth quarter, outscoring Harrison 18-7 in the final period to pull away in the end.

It was Lovejoy’s young roster — led by sophomores Genesis Bryant and Anaya Boyd — that made the necessary plays in the fourth quarter, not Harrison’s senior heavy squad. Boyd finished with 20 points and five rebounds, while Bryant added 14 points and four assists.

“They were prepared, I knew they were prepared, so it was just about trusting what you’re doing,” King said. “But they’re still teenage girls, they showed nerves too even though they’re the more senior-laden team…I thought Anaya Boyd, once she settled down in the second half, I thought she was bananas. She just attacked. I don’t think anybody can guard her.”

Lovejoy also got strong contributions from several role players. Kayla Brown recorded eight points and 13 rebounds, Avanna Preston added eight points and J’Auana Robinson scored seven points.

“I thought J’Auana played great, I thought Avanna played great, setting the tone. She had such a great week of practice to set the tone,” King said. “We always say she’s the head of the snake and I think she did a great job.”

Harrison entered the game knowing that they would have to deal with Lovejoy’s pressure defense. The Lady Hoyas did a quality job, and after falling behind 8-2 in the early going, responded to tie the game at 10-all after one quarter.

Lovejoy fell behind in the second quarter by as many as five points. The Lady Wildcats scored the last three points of the quarter to cut the deficit to 19-17 at halftime. They shot 27 percent and turned the ball over 12 times.

“The nerves of both teams, I thought they had a little more senior leadership in the beginning,” King said. “The turnovers, I just thought the nerves of playing in this moment and this type of thing, I thought the nerves really overwhelmed. I think I whispered at halftime, whispered because I wanted them to just calm down, calm down and play your game. It paid off a little bit.”

Both teams played better offensively in the third quarter, and the lead changed several times. Preston hit a 3-pointer, Lovejoy’s first, early in the quarter t0 cut the deficit to one, 21-20. Lovejoy took the lead three different times, but Harrison responded each time to tie the game back up. The Lady Hoyas went ahead 32-31 at the 2:10 mark, but Bryant made her first 3-pointer of the game to put Lovejoy back in front by two. Harrison scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 36-34 lead into the final period.

Lovejoy sat Bryant and Boyd in the final minute of the third quarter, a decision King said he thought paid off in the fourth quarter.

“We took out our better players because we wanted to give them a break to finish the game,” he said. “I thought two points, with the way we were working and the way they weren’t scoring — we went into our matchup and just played solid — I thought we would take over.”