Schools

Lovett Girls Edge Decatur

Lady Bulldogs play in consolation game at 2 p.m. Saturday.

In the end it didn't matter how hard they played, or how noble their focus -- Decatur's Lady Bulldogs simply couldn't manage their half-court possessions.

Turnovers  -- 23 for the game -- were the determining factor in Decatur's 41-33 semifinal defeat to Lovett in the Region 6-AA tournament at the Decatur High Arena.

Lovett advances to Saturday's 5 p.m. championship against the winner of Greater Atlanta Christian vs. Buford, which tipped off at 7:15 Friday night. Decatur will play the loser of that game in the 2 p.m. Saturday consolation game.

Like the first time these teams met in December, the second quarter proved Decatur's downfall. The Bulldogs sailed ahead 13-8 after one quarter before getting bombarded 11-4 in the second as Lovett opened a 19-17 halftime lead.

"We started real lethargic, which is unusual for us," said coach Liz Kennedy, whose team advances to the championship for the first time in her six years at Lovett. "We started off in a three-quarters zone press and they cut through that like it was nothing.

"So then we made two adjustments," she said. "We went to a half-court man and we really stressed clamping down on Queen."

Decatur's Queen Alford finished with a game-high 18 points -- four points below her season's average -- but scored only 10 in the game's final 24 minutes after Lovett switched defenses.

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Decatur had no other player in double figures. Jordan Dillard was closest, with six points on 3 of 9 shooting.

Lovett eventually opened up a nine-point lead at 33-24 with a minute left in the third quarter, but Decatur came clawing back.

When Queen tore into the passing lane for a steal and drove the length, Decatur was within 33-31 with 5:30 left in the game.

"The game was right there within our grasp," said Decatur coach Bill Roberts. "But I think what happened is that Queen tried to take on too much responsibility. A lot of times she'd get the ball and she was triple teamed.

"I tried to tell her," he said, "you can't force the the play, no matter how good you are. You should never feel like you have to do all the work."

She did find her sister, Jahmee Alford-Reeves, open for a layup with 2:27 left, cutting it to 36-33, but that would be Decatur's last score on this night.

Then Lovett seemed to go into a delay, except that fearless freshman Te'Erica Eason didn't get the message, breaking free for a seven-footer to make it 38-33.

"Well, she wasn't supposed to shoot," Kennedy said. "But she has a lot of confidence. Since it went in, I'd guess you'd have to say it was a good shot."

For Decatur that last 2:27 was a microcosm for the whole game.

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The Bulldogs were tentative offensively, seemingly unaware of each possession's import. Further, they committed four, mostly unforced, turnovers during that span.

But the killer came after Roberts called a timeout with 1:31 left and Decatur still trailing 38-33. On the subsequent in-bounds play under Decatur's basket, Jahmee rushed an impossible shot, not even coming close to striking the rim.

Lovett rebounded and this one was no longer in doubt.

Sydney Umeri and Tatiana Jackson had 11 points each in a balanced Lovett attack. Eason finished with 10. Lovett committed only 10 turnovers and shot 42 percent from the field, 15 of 36.

Decatur had 10 more shots than Lovett which, on most nights, would've ensured a victory. But the Bulldogs made only 14 of those for 30 percent, and made only 1 of 7 three-pointers.

After tomorrow's game, Decatur will likely play again Tuesday, on the road against the first or second seed in Region 5-AA.

"By no means am I depressed by this game," Roberts said. "If we do a few more things right, we win. Queen's got to recognize open teammates when she's double or triple teamed. Jordan's got to get ready to receive the ball in the paint. We can't force plays. Things like that.

"We need to come out," he said, "win tomorrow and take it from there." 

Decatur's boys, 13-13, will take on 21-5 Greater Atlanta Christian at 8:30 p.m. Friday.


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