By Jason Martin:
Photo By Paul Gray
A defensive struggle the first time around, Round 2 between the Lady Dragons and Lady Purples was anything but. Bowling Green surged to a 9-0 lead, getting six early points from Ta Mia Matthews, who would finish the half with 16. Tia Barnett had 15, doing all she could to keep a short-handed Warren Central team in the game. LaShae Halsel was unavailable, a walking boot on her left leg. It meant less aggressive defense to keep the Lady Dragon bigs out of foul trouble. 41-32 at the half and Joe Hood had to find a way to raise intensity without losing any players due to infractions.
The Lady Dragons cut it to 5 one more time and then it ballooned to 20 at 72-52. For all intents and purposes, that was the ball game, but don’t tell that to Warren Central. They fought all the way to the end on both ends of the floor. Karajah Leach had the stat line of the season, finishing with 20 points and 18 rebounds. It wouldn’t quite be enough as Bowling Green hung on to win 81-75. Oneisha Turner and Ta Mia Matthews combined for 50 points in the Lady Purples win.
FINAL: BG 81, WC 75 (Leach, 20 pts 18 reb; Matthews 26, Turner 24)
What did you expect? A subpar basketball game? Not happening, not when Bowling Green and Warren Central match up. It took overtime for the Dragons to win two weeks ago, but the Purples felt they finally saw what Coach Unseld’s team was all about and would know how to thwart it in the rematch. Early on, they were right, scoring the game’s first 9 points and leading 11-2. But Jared Savage plays for Warren Central. He had 17 in the first half and the Dragons didn’t just claw back from the fast deficit, they took the lead. It was a back and forth struggle as both teams had big moments, but a Tracy Hampton three in the final half-minute gave Warren Central a 35-33 lead as the teams went to the locker room.
In the first minute of the second half, Bowling Green took the lead, and as their three point shooting percentage exceeded any reasonable measurement, the Purples wouldn’t trail again. 9 of 15 from three point range, three for Terry Taylor and two for Tucker Sine in the second half alone. It would prove to be a little too much for the Dragons, who struggled to find a rhythm shooting the ball. Bowling Green would win 69-57, evening the season series. Both teams won on their home floor. The expected rubber match, perhaps the pair of games they have left with one another, those will be far more important.
FINAL: BG 69, WC 57 (Savage 30, Sine 23, Taylor 13)
