Rockmart girls survive Dade County in region tournament
The Rockmart Lady Jackets will have to wait for the weather to finish off the region tournament after they survived semifinals, and then saw snow get in the way of their showdown with Chattooga.
Rockmart (19-6) and Dade County (18-9) were tied at 44 each when the Lady Jackets’ leading scorer, Keyarah Berry, went to the line and hit 3-of-6 free throws down the stretch.
Dade County’s Emma Heard got the ball near the corner with less than 3 seconds left and shot a 3-pointer that hit inside of the rim and rolled around before going out as the final buzzer sounded.
Rockmart coach Andre Clark said he had warned his team about the pressure that Dade County would put on them.
“I told them coming in that if we didn’t come in ready that they were going to push us to the limit, and they did exactly what I thought they were going to do because they are a team that plays hard,” Clark said. “They don’t quit. They ain’t a bad basketball team.”
Berry finished with a game-high 33 points, 14 of which came in a critical third quarter that helped Rockmart reestablish its defense and turn it into points on the scoreboard.
“It was everything,” Clark said. “And that’s what I told them before the game that defense is going to be our offense, and if we just play solid defense we’ll have a chance to win the game.”
Rockmart trailed Dade County 2822 at halftime, with Berry responsible for 15 of the Lady Jackets’ first half points.
Berry was able to take advantage of some Dade turnovers early in the third quarter and helped Rockmart go on a 7-3 run and get within two, 31-29. The junior then had a personal 8-0 run over the last 2:40 of the period as the Lady Jackets went ahead 37-34.
Dade County’s Jayda Wood sank a long 3-pointer with a second to go and tied it at 37 apiece leaving the game to be decided in the final period.
The game was the first in a week for Rockmart after getting the No. 2 seed and then having to wait an extra day after weather forced the postponement of the semifinals from Thursday to Friday.
“We had that whole week off pretty much and I was concerned about that, not because you can practice all you want, but there’s nothing like running up and down the court,” Clark said. “I thought that we just didn’t have the energy like we normally do to finish games and even kind of start the game the way I like it, so it was tough game and I’m just glad we pulled it out.”
Dade County’s Megan Schauer led the Lady Wolverines with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Megan Little was the second leading scorer for Rockmart with seven.
Rockmart was set to get back on the court on Monday evening after press time to take on Chattooga for the 7-AA title. Check back for updates as they become available.