Panama City Beach Marlin Christmas Classic – Day 2

On day two, of the Panama City Beach Marlin Christmas Classic, the Warriorettes played at 2:30 p.m. and the Warriors at 5 p.m.

The Warriorettes’ game was a blowout. They played Brookwood and won 79-12. White County won the tip but wouldn’t score until 6:44. Nia Powers was sent to the line and made 1/2. Mia Murray drove to the basket for two on the next play. After a technical foul, Murray again drove to the basket for two. Powers scored two points off of an inbound play. This put the Warriorettes up 7-1. At 4:12 Powers completed an And1, increasing the score 10-1. Brookwood had a hard time getting past the Warriorettes’ defense, and’ even when they did, they had trouble scoring. Less than four minutes left, Murray drove for two once again, and, on the next play, Morgan Quick stole the ball and took it for a layup. This made the score 14-1 and forced a visitor timeout. Sparta got a few steals that they couldn’t convert, but a trap from Quick and Gracie Dodgen caused a walk. Reed scored a layup with 1:31 left. Powers stole the ball and advanced it to Dodgen for a layup. Shortly after, Quick gets on the floor after a loose ball, finds Frazier, and Reed shoots the two. Another Brookwood timeout is called, with less than a minute. Neither team scored for the rest of the first, leaving it 20-1.

Murray started the second with a drained three. At the 6:32 mark, Powers got fouled and hit both free throws. Murray did a step back for a two. Brookwood went to the other end and made a bucket. The score was 27-3, with 5:46 to go in the half. A few seconds later, Reed made a jump shot. At 4:18, Dodgen stole the ball and took it all the way for a completed And1. Quick battled on the boards and got fouled. She made both - 34-3. At the three-minute mark, Frazier got a steal and found Reed down the floor for a two. On the next play, Frazier picked up a defensive rebound and pushed the ball to Reed for two again. Reed kept running the floor and rewarded herself with another layup. The score was 40-5, with less than two minutes in the half. After a Brookwood bucket, Reed scored another layup. Golden got a defensive rebound and dribbled to the other end where she passed the ball to a posted Rittenberry but passed to Brown on the trail for a layup. McDonald tied the ball up to grant Sparta possession. Rittenberry took advantage and hit two free throws to close out the second. 44-5 at the half.

Twenty seconds into the third, Quick sank a three. On the next possession, she came off of a screen and sank another. At 4:43, Dodgen made a corner three off of an inbound play. Quick got fouled at the rim and made both free throws. The Warriorettes outscored Brookwood 17-2 in the third. After Quick’s free throws, Dodgen made a three. With a minute left, Dodgen was fouled at the three-point line and went 3/3. The end of third score was 61-7.

Brookwood scored give in the last quarter. Around 50 seconds in, Frasier lobbed it to Powers for two. Forty seconds later, Reed drove in for two. On an inbound play, Powers scored two. With five minutes left in the game, Brookwood banked in a 3. The next possession, Powers hit Rittenberry off of a roll. Powers also hit Reed for a short jumper. Sparta had control over the game and scored at will with most of the possessions belonging to them. With less than four minutes to go, Reed assisted Rittenberry for 2. At this point, the score is 73-10, with 3:28 remaining. Brown made a great post move and went up for two.

McDonald got an offensive rebound and put it back for two. Brookwood scored their last point of the game. Brown answered and finished the game with a layup.

Reed: 16pt-1ast-3stl-2rebs

Dodgen: 14pt-3ast-3stl

Quick: 12pt-7stl-6rebs

Powers: 12pt-2ast-6stl-4rebs

Murray: 11pt-2ast-5stl-2rebs

Frazier: 11ast-2stl-5rebs

Brown: 6pt-1stl-2rebs

Rittenberry: 6pt-1ast

Frasier: 3ast

McDonald: 2pt-1ast-1stl-2rebs

Stiles: 1ast-4stl-6rebs

Golden: 1ast-1rebs

Haston: 1stl

The Warriors’ game was much closer. A few missed/bad calls from the refs had Sparta’s fans going crazy. Despite the adversity, the Warriors conquered Arnold HS Marlins.

Arnold jumped out with a three within the first 12 seconds. Nash drove it to the basket and got fouled on the way up. He knocked down both free throws. #25 for Arnold dominated for them. His first points were an And1. Nash bounced back with a corner 3. #25 went to the other end for a jumper. Another Arnold player stepped up and drained a 3. The score was 13-10 Arnold, with 3:27 to go. #25 dribbled through the Warriors and dunked it. Slatten nailed a corner 3. An Arnold turnover led to a fouled Kade Clark, who went 1/2. 1:19 and Tanner Paul steals the ball and finds Grant Slatten for another three. Clark took a charge, which got everyone fired up. On one inbound, Slatten is assisted for a jumper, and, on the other, Slatten drives and kicks to Paul for a layup. The Warriors were leading 21-15 at the end of the first.

Sparta had the ball to start the second. Clark got fouled as he went up. He made 1/2 of his free throws. On the miss, Thomas Paul battled to get the board and went back up. He was also fouled and hit 1/2. Arnold’s #25 made a step back jumper. Slatten caught the ball around the three-point line and drove in and dunked on three Arnold players. Clark took another charge on the other end. Baskets were traded, but the Warriors started to take off. By the end of the half, Sparta was up 45-31.

During the third quarter, foul calls were crucial but were scarce. The Marlins turned the ball over to start, so Slatten took advantage and scored two from the middle of the paint. Arnold scored back-to-back points, with one being a three-point play. Around 6:09, Slatten drove baseline and got fouled on his way up. He knocked down both free throws. Four baskets by Arnold forced two Sparta timeouts. Arnold had the momentum, but, after the second timeout, Slatten hit a corner three. Arnold made a free throw and then a jumper. The score was 49-52 in the Warriors’ favor, with 2:07 remaining. Slatten made a three and then found Davis for two the next time down. Arnold’s #25 was sent to the free throw line, where he made one. Slatten took it to the other end and drained a deep three. The Marlins took the last shot of the third by an And1. The Warriors held onto their lead of 60-53.

Arnold tried to chip away at the score, but the Warriors carried on.

Slatten opened the fourth with a drive. Arnold score the next five points. Tanner Paul got fouled and made 1/2. A few possessions later, Slatten completed an And1. With 4:28 remaining, Clark takes his third charge of the game. Sparta had the momentum and there was no looking back. Arnold hit a bucket to make the score 60-66, but Gentry answered with a two as well, changing it to 60-68. A few baskets were traded, but the Marlins started fouling and sent the Warriors to the line. They closed out the game 75-60.

Slatten: 42pt-2ast-1stl-4rebs

Nash: 12pt-3ast-6stl-3rebs

Ta.Paul: 9pt-2ast-1stl-8rebs

Davis: 5pt-2ast-1stl-3rebs

Clark: 4pt-6ast-1stl-8rebs-3chg

Gentry: 2pt-1ast-3rebs

Th.Paul: 1pt-1reb