Fast start sends Beach past Ringgold in girls’ Elite Eight
Arguably the best season for a Ringgold High School girls’ basketball team in nearly 35 years came to a close Wednesday night a win shy of the program’s first Final Four berth since 1986.
The Beach Bulldogs from Savannah blitzed the Lady Tigers with a dominant first quarter and kept the home team at arm’s length the rest of the way as they punched their ticket to the Class 3A girls’ state semifinals with a 47-31 victory.
The backcourt duo of Madison Evans and Kaila Rougier combined for 22 points and eight steals, while Ameyah Dantzler controlled the paint to the tune of 11 points and 18 rebounds.
Beach’s speed was on display at in the opening quarter as five steals, along with a block by Dantzler, led to 10 of the Bulldogs’ points as the visitors from Savannah bolted out to an 18-2 lead after the first eight minutes, quieting a packed and loud home crowd at David Moss Gymnasium.
And although Ringgold stood toe-to-toe with the visitors on the scoreboard over the final three periods (29-29), the first quarter deficit was simply too much to overcome.
“I felt like we battled back after that first quarter, but when you’re trying to come back against a team as good as Beach is, you just have to be ready to go from the get-go,” Ringgold head coach Margaret Stockburger said. “I don’t like losing and (our girls) don’t either, but I’m proud of the way they came out of the dressing room and the way they fought back in the second half. It just comes down to the fact that basketball games have four quarters and you have to play all four of them.”
Ringgold finally began to settle down in the second quarter as they held the Bulldogs to just a single basket over the final 5:55 of the half. However, the Lady Tigers managed only six points of their own in that same span as pressure from the Beach defense, along with a cold-shooting first half, combined to send the Blue-and-White to the locker room with a 24-10 deficit.
Riley Nayadley began to find her range in the third quarter. The junior hit a pair of 3-pointers and accounted for all 10 of
the Lady Tigers’ points in the period, but Beach would still hold a comfortable 3820 lead going into the final quarter.
The Bulldogs began to take the air out of the ball in the fourth, content to run the clock on offense. Drives into the lane by Evans and Rougier would lead to three buckets in the paint as Beach ran out the clock and began to celebrate another trip to the state semifinals.
Evans finished with a team-high 12 points, while Rougier went for 10 as Beach improved to 21-9.
Stockburger said she felt the key to the game was the ability of Evans and Rougier to get in the lane for shots or passes to the Bulldogs’ post players in the paint.
“Their two guards are pretty quick,” she added. “I don’t really think (Beach’s) size (inside) is what hurt us. I think (it was) the penetration (in the lane) and us not being able to stop (their guards) from going left.”
Nayadley led all scorers with 14 points for Ringgold.
Rachel Lopez was second on that list with seven.
Wednesday’s loss was just the second setback for the Lady Tigers since the team returned from Christmas break on Jan. 3. After a 6-7 start, Ringgold went 14-2 to finish the year.
“At Christmas time, we just kind of took a break and had a little discussion,” Stockburger added. “It just shows what kind of heart and what kind of character these ladies have. I’m proud of them.
“I’m also really proud of the senior class and what they’ve done and what they’ve meant to this program. I just hope the underclassmen have really learned from them and they will continue what this group has done here.”
Beach, the 2017 state champs, will have a chance to win a second state title in four seasons later this weekend. The Bulldogs defeated North Hall, 52-31, on Saturday in the semifinals at Valdosta State University. They will face Greater Atlanta Christian in the championship game after the Lady Spartans dethroned two-time state champion Johnson-Savannah, 52-50.