By Daniel Evans

The Selma Times-Journal

 

MONTGOMERY — Keith rallied from an 11 point second half deficit to a 53-41 victory over Loachapoka in a 1A central regional semifinal Friday at Alabama State University’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

After making just four field goals in an abysmal first half performance, the Bears focused on getting to the free throw line, and it paid dividends. Keith made 27-of-40 free throws in the game, with 17 of the makes coming in the second half.

Coupled with a defense that held the Indians to just five points in the fourth quarter, it was the perfect recipe for a come-from-behind victory.

“It was all heart. I have a talented group of girls,” Keith head coach Cecil Williams said. “I called them to the sideline and took a timeout and they had their heads down. I told them if they wanted it, they had to play like they wanted it. They came out and played defense well, moved their feet, rebounded and most of all made their free throws when they counted.”

For a while, it didn’t look good.

Keith struggled to find an answer for Loachapoka’s defense, which doubled Harriet Winchester and forced the Bears into 10 first half turnovers. The Bears trailed 25-18 at the break, but the lead ballooned into an 11-point advantage after a quick start to the second half by the Indians.

Even Winchester admitted that the horrible feeling from last year, when Loachapoka ended Keith’s season in the same round of the playoffs, started to sink in.

“It wasn’t my intentions [to think about losing], but being down by double digits, there was a high possibility that we were not going to be able to come back without getting all of us all into foul trouble,” Winchester said.

Somehow, someway, the Keith defense dug in deep and got the stops it needed. Winchester broke free for back-to-back fast break scores to open the fourth quarter to pull the Bears within 36-32.

Zykia Pettway added a layup with 4:53 left to bring the Bears within 38-35 and around a minute later, Wincheter tied the game at 40 with free throws.

Dasheena Thomas’s three-point play with 3:38 left gave Keith’s its first lead since the first quarter.

Free throws by Winchester, Pettway and Alyshia Boone helped the Bears put the finishing touches on the victory.

All in all, the final stretch amounted to a 30-7 Keith run, which included outscoring Loachapoka 25-5 in the fourth quarter.

Winchester led the way, scoring 20 points, with 10 of her points coming at the free throw line.

Pettway did most of her damage on the boards, bringing down 11 rebounds to go with 11 points on only five attempts.

After shooting 20 percent (4 of 20) from the field in the first half, Keith shot 52.9 percent (9 of 17) in the second half. Loachapoka made only 4-of-22 field goals in the second half and finished the game with a 23.5 shooting performance.

Keith will move on to face Sunshine, a class 1A, area 5 rival Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Bears won two of the three meetings this year, including a victory in the class 1A, area 5 championship game.

“They say if it is not broke, don’t fix it,” Williams said. “If we have to make adjustments at halftime like we had to tonight, we will. Otherwise, we know what we have and they know what we have … There isn’t too much you can hide when you’ve seen each other three times.”