The Bradwell Lady Tigers garnered a 69-41 victory over the Lady Atomsmashers of Johnson High School Friday night, placing the local girls in a tie for second place in 3-AAAAA. The men helped the Atomsmashers wrap up second place with a 50-66 loss.
Lady Tigers 69, Lady Atomsmashers 41
The Lady Tigers took care of business by taking care of the ball and reducing their often-high turnovers. This allowed them to extend their lead over the lady Atomsmashers and hold on to win in a tough away-game in Savannah.
Lady Tiger coach Faye Baker said she had no complaints in the way her team played Friday night and hopes to carry their performance into the first round of regional playoffs next week. They ended their regular season 19-6 overall and 11-3 in the region.
Baker said Jammie McLemore made good decisions on the court as their point guard and Brytnii Speight played a good game. She was impressed with Quintunya Chapman's performance off the bench, saying she played an excellent couple of minutes.
"We reduced our turnovers," she said. "We had 16, close to that 15 and under number we are trying to reach. We had a great performance by everybody and hopefully the momentum we played with last night will carry into the first round of region playoff next week."
While the Lady Tigers still have to wait and see whom they draw in the first round, Baker said it's a whole new game.
"First we congratulated them on their regular season," she said. "Nineteen wins is a great accomplishment, especially for a team as young as this one. Then we told them that records don't mean anything now. It's all about wins and losses. Right now we are concentrating on that first round because you either win or go home. We just need to work on that first win right now just to stay in the playoffs."
Tigers 50, Atomsmashers 66
Tiger coach Pete Woodard knew before they left for Savannah that Johnson's Toby Veal was the threat they needed to contain. And they did for the first half, allowing Veal only four points. But Veal returned for the second half and scored 15-points against the Tigers and the Atomsmashers took a 16 point lead during the fourth quarter.
"Without a doubt he (Toby Veal) was the threat," Woodard said. "And he put on a show last night."
Woodard went on to say he was proud of his team, saying they played hard, executed well and played a good game.
"But as usual it was missed free throws that did us in," he added. "If we can't make the free throws you can't put on that pressure defense that you want. That was a big factor."
He also said Johnson had more depth than the Tigers.
Woodard discussed what the Tigers need to do as they get set for post-season action:
"As we prepare for post season I got to get the guys to understand that this is where it really maters. It doesn't matter who's first or last, it all boils down to who wants it more when you get to tournament play. It determines whether or not you advance to the next round, which is the state playoff. You can have a 0-14 region record but get a win in the region tournament and go on to the state playoffs. If I can make them understand the significance of this tournament I hope it will motivate them to play with more focus and intensity."
The Tigers will travel to Beach High for their regional tournament. They play either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Lady Tigers 69, Lady Atomsmashers 41
The Lady Tigers took care of business by taking care of the ball and reducing their often-high turnovers. This allowed them to extend their lead over the lady Atomsmashers and hold on to win in a tough away-game in Savannah.
Lady Tiger coach Faye Baker said she had no complaints in the way her team played Friday night and hopes to carry their performance into the first round of regional playoffs next week. They ended their regular season 19-6 overall and 11-3 in the region.
Baker said Jammie McLemore made good decisions on the court as their point guard and Brytnii Speight played a good game. She was impressed with Quintunya Chapman's performance off the bench, saying she played an excellent couple of minutes.
"We reduced our turnovers," she said. "We had 16, close to that 15 and under number we are trying to reach. We had a great performance by everybody and hopefully the momentum we played with last night will carry into the first round of region playoff next week."
While the Lady Tigers still have to wait and see whom they draw in the first round, Baker said it's a whole new game.
"First we congratulated them on their regular season," she said. "Nineteen wins is a great accomplishment, especially for a team as young as this one. Then we told them that records don't mean anything now. It's all about wins and losses. Right now we are concentrating on that first round because you either win or go home. We just need to work on that first win right now just to stay in the playoffs."
Tigers 50, Atomsmashers 66
Tiger coach Pete Woodard knew before they left for Savannah that Johnson's Toby Veal was the threat they needed to contain. And they did for the first half, allowing Veal only four points. But Veal returned for the second half and scored 15-points against the Tigers and the Atomsmashers took a 16 point lead during the fourth quarter.
"Without a doubt he (Toby Veal) was the threat," Woodard said. "And he put on a show last night."
Woodard went on to say he was proud of his team, saying they played hard, executed well and played a good game.
"But as usual it was missed free throws that did us in," he added. "If we can't make the free throws you can't put on that pressure defense that you want. That was a big factor."
He also said Johnson had more depth than the Tigers.
Woodard discussed what the Tigers need to do as they get set for post-season action:
"As we prepare for post season I got to get the guys to understand that this is where it really maters. It doesn't matter who's first or last, it all boils down to who wants it more when you get to tournament play. It determines whether or not you advance to the next round, which is the state playoff. You can have a 0-14 region record but get a win in the region tournament and go on to the state playoffs. If I can make them understand the significance of this tournament I hope it will motivate them to play with more focus and intensity."
The Tigers will travel to Beach High for their regional tournament. They play either Tuesday or Wednesday.