By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
SAVANNAH – A 35-second violation in the final minutes, missed free throws throughout the game, matching up incorrectly on defense – critical mistakes are killing the South Effingham girls basketball team.
The Mustangs were their own worst enemy Dec. 28 and dropped a 36-33 contest to McDonough High School in the BallHer Showcase at Jenkins High School.
SEHS (5-9) made similar mistakes – 14 missed free-throws – in a 34-29 loss to Cedar Shoals on Friday afternoon in the two-day holiday tournament.
“The biggest things are the details. I say this after every game it seems,” Mustangs coach Alexus Parker said. “We’re young, but I tell them being young isn’t always going to be an excuse. Eventually, you have to grow up.”
South, which starts a freshman, three sophomores and a junior, has four losses by seven points or less this season. The Mustangs probably saw another potential winnable game escape with their late collapse on Saturday.
SEHS went more than 11 ½ minutes without a field goal during the second and third quarters to fall behind by four, 20-16, before Hayden Johanson sparked a run.
The junior guard scored five straight points during a 13-4 spurt that gave South a 29-24 advantage early in the fourth quarter. The five-point lead was the biggest of the game for either team.
But the Mustangs made just one field goal in the remaining 7:05.
After McDonough took the lead (33-31) on Jadah Rembert’s three-point play, Johanson answered with two free throws to knot the game with 52.9 seconds left.
But, on the next possession, South’s defense lost track of center Keondra Shuler, who was all alone under the basket for an easy layup – her only basket of the game, to put the Warhawks ahead 35-33 with 44 seconds left.
Point guard Amiyah Dedrick added a free throw with 4.7 seconds left to seal the win.
Johanson finished with a game-high 14 points. She had nine of her team’s final 12 points.
South made just 8-of-17 free throws and was whistled for a lane violation to subtract another missed shot at the charity stripe.
Parker refused to use the holiday distractions, unusual afternoon starting times and the empty gym setting as excuses for her team’s play.
“The little things are beating us,” she said. “We have to continue to learn and apply it to the next game. We have to keep them in the gym and let them get the reps. Too much down time isn’t always the best.”
The Mustangs open subregion play on Jan. 7 against Statesboro High. They’ll host Southeast Bulloch in a non-subregion clash on Saturday Jan. 4.
