Embiid to sit tonight at Chicago
OCEAN CITY » Every team needs an extra guard like Ewing High’s Jaycee Lowe.
In some of head coach Mike Reynolds’ sets, Lowe, a 5-foot-7 junior, seems to serve more of a small forward or third guard role.
But if anything happens to senior point guard Kiyla Peterson, Lowe can become the primary ball handler.
That change can be crucial in a game as the Blue Devils found out Sunday after traveling two hours to play at midday in the 20th annual Ocean City PBA TipOff Tournament at Dixie Howell Gymnasium.
Their opponent, Atlantic City, fell into a 14-point hole midway through the second quarter with Peterson and classmate Mya Grimes dominating Ewing’s harddriving attack.
Then things went haywire.
The Vikings roared back to within a basket before halftime and were trading baskets with the Blue Devils early in the third quarter when Peterson found herself in foul trouble.
In step Lowe, who runs the offense with a more deliberate style. The junior better known as a shooter showed how good she is at both fazes of the game by sparking a third-quarter run which steered Ewing to a 70-51 victory.
“At that point (when Peterson gets in foul trouble), I have to be point guard,” Lowe said. “I have no problem with it.”
“When Atlantic City started to challenge us, things got unorganized. We had to make adjustments,” Reynolds said. “Jaycee is real steady. There’s not a lot that fazes her.”
Especially with junior guard/forward Myasia Jackson sidelined with a knee injury, the Blue Devils needed a steadying presence. Lowe provided a change of pace, which had the Vikings stutter stepping. Her cutback dribbles and continued smooth shooting led to a 12-4 spurt in the third quarter.
Lowe started that rally with a 3-point field goal and a slicing drive to the basket for a layup. Senior guard Chantell Gillette capped the run with a blocked shot at one end of the floor, then a drive to the hoop at the other end.
“In games like this, we have to keep our composure and know that every point counts,” said Lowe, who finished with 14 points and five assists.
Those numbers may not look as impressive as those of Grimes, who scored a game-high 22 points with 15 rebounds, six steals, five assists and four blocked shots, or of Peterson, who had 21 points and six assists.
But with Atlantic City’s Qeiaje Canty turning up the heat with 19 points, including four 3-pointers, Lowe knew that her own contributions, as well as those of her other teammates, were just as important to helping Ewing shake off the Vikings’ 15-3 run, which brought them as close as 28-26 with 15 seconds left in the first half.
“As long as we keep our heads when things go against us and try to make all of our shots count, we’ll win,” Lowe said.
LAWRENCEVILLE 65, KINGSWOOD OXFORD 40 WEST HARTFORD, CONN. » The Big Red found their flow to take third place from the home team at the Kingswood Oxford Invitational Tournament.
Taylor Thompson led Lawrenceville’s offense with 24 points, plus nine rebounds.
Heaven Figueroa added 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Jordyn Ford turned in nine points and nine rebounds.
SATURDAY
TCA 56, MARIST 41 BAYONNE » The Iron Mikes began their season with a road win, using 12 points from Breyonna Seymour and 11 more from Giana Boulden to get past the Royal Knights.