09:00pm | You never know what you’re going to get from a team after a demoralizing loss. After the fourth quarter against Jordan on Wednesday, that’s the only question Millikan head coach Lorene Morgan had on her mind. After the fourth quarter against Wilson on Friday, the only thing Morgan could do is nod and smile.
An emotional and frantic fourth quarter in the Wilson gym went the Millikan way, 48-44, because of smart, aggressive play from the Rams. Rachel Flores led all scorers with a season-high 13 points. Tiffany Bailey led the Bruins with 12 points.
As exciting as the conclusion was, the game started slow with Millikan struggling to break the Wilson zone defense, and the first quarter ended tied at 11. Sophomore Sequoia Hernandez (recently returning from injury) got into a rhythm in the second quarter and dished out most of her game-high six assists as the Rams took a 21-18 lead into halftime.
The two teams traded jabs in the second half before the Rams landed the knockout blow with four minutes remaining.
Guard Armelia Patterson grabbed one of her game-high 13 rebounds after a Wilson miss and went coast-to-coast for two of her eight points to put the Rams up, 40-35. The Bruins did a good job of getting the ball inside to Bailey and Cheyenne Butler and getting to the free throw line. Wilson pulled within one at 41-40 with less than two minutes left.
That’s when heart took over.
WIth a huge tape wrap on her right arm because of an injury sustained during the Jordan game, Millikan center Hilary Drinovsky didn’t play much, but when we did she made it count. Doctors think the elbow injury might be a fracture, but with so much swelling the x-rays were inconclusive. Despite the half-bent arm and pain, the senior pulled a beautiful post move on the block to give the Rams the lead, 42-41.
After Patterson forced a traveling violation with suffocating ball pressure, Flores made her coach the happiest person in the building.
“She loves to huck that thing up,” said Morgan of Flores’ corner three-point shot. “We talked about it at half and I told them that shot is open if we were patient… and she got the ball in the corner early, made the extra pass, it came back to her, and she buried it.”
The three pointer gave the Rams a 46-41 lead, and at the other end Drinovsky showed her true grit again with a huge blocked shot that had the Millikan bench jumping. Hernandez picked up the loose ball, found Flores running the near sideline, who found Destiny Watson under the bucket for the lay up.
“It felt good to get back out there after our last quarter,” said Morgan.
In a game that means playoff position, that could be the understatement of the year so far.
OTHER SCORES
Poly 76, Lakewood 20
Come back tomorrow for a full standings box