Decatur Girls Overcome Poor Shooting in Blessed Trinity Win

Decatur High’s girls took 81 shots from the floor Friday night and, perhaps more incredibly, made only 18 for 22 percent. Yet they managed to beat Blessed Trinity 53-42 in a game that never really seemed in doubt from the second quarter on.

The win was the Bulldogs second in as many games over an important regional opponent, and should earn them a spot in next week’s top ten.

The boys, meanwhile, suffered two lengthy scoring droughts in dropping a 57-45 decision, their third straight loss.

In the girls game senior Jordan Dillard hit a mid-range jumper with 2:40 left in the first quarter putting Decatur ahead 11-9, a lead it never relinquished.  Dillard, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, managed only that one first-half basket though her team led 27-18 at intermission.

“[Blessed] had a good game plan, doubling down on Jordan,” said Decatur coach Bill Roberts. “We’ll probably start seeing that more and more. It becomes imperative our other players take on their share of the load.”

Dillard got plenty help Friday from freshmen Jayla Morrow and Kayla Thomas. Morrow, the 5-2 lightening point guard, who’s already attention from colleges, had 11 points and six steals while Thomas, only 5-9, had 13 rebounds.

Dillard picked it up in the second half, pouring in 16 points, finishing with a game-high 19 points along with 11 rebounds.

Blessed Trinity never quite gave in, even cutting matters to five inside the last four minutes. But the Bulldogs pulled away, hitting their free throws down the stretch and taking care of ball, only making 12 turnovers for the night.

Junior forward Kori Anderson added eight points as Decatur goes to 5-1 and 2-0 in Region 6-AAA.

The boys opened quickly to a 9-4 lead in the first 2:40 and then just as quickly fizzled. Late in the first, early in the second quarter the Bulldogs went 6:55 without scoring as Blessed rattled off 11 straight points to take 17-11 lead.

The Titans never trailed again, and Decatur has its own misfired shots to thank for that. The Bulldogs had many good looks, both inside and beyond the arc, but made only 17 of 53 from the field for 32 percent, including 3 of 17 (18 percent) in three pointers.

Further, all Decatur hopes were dashed with another frustrating stretch of 4:13 without a field goal in the fourth quarter.

“I think it comes down to two things,” said Decatur coach Charlie Copp. “We didn’t make shots, and we didn’t play as hard as they did. When you play as hard as they did, you’re going to get more foul calls.”

Decatur shot only 14 free throws (making eight) while Blessed Trinity made 23 of 37, essentially the difference in this game.

Murad Dillard led Decatur with 13 points while Cordele Jackson had 10 on 5 for 8 shooting from the field.

The Decatur are now 3-3 and 0-2 in the region. The Bulldogs play again Tuesday at McNair, the girls at 5:30 p.m. and the boys at 7 p.m.