Alexander, Reds hold on
Senior scores 35, including key late layup; Gators miss shot with two seconds left
With her girls basketball team down two key players and clinging to a slim lead in the final minutes of its Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference opener Friday at Seton Keough, Roland Park senior Jaia Alexander knew the spotlight would be shining squarely upon her.
And despite facing almost constant double teams, the Clemson-bound guard still found a way to play a starring role, scoring a game-high 35 points, including a key layup with 39 seconds left, to lead the No. 2 Reds over the No. 7 Gators, 61-60.
“We always talk about making a statement, and I think we made a statement tonight,” Alexander said. “We all took accountability and stepped up toward the end. We had each other’s back down the stretch.”
The All-Metro guard’s big night helped hold off a mostly stellar performance by Seton Keough, which, after leading by as many as six points early, battled back from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Gators pulled within one on an acrobatic layup that turned into a threepoint play by junior Sydney Mitchell (23 points) with 32 seconds left.
They then forced a five-second call on Alexander near midcourt with 7.6 seconds remaining, giving them the ball with a chance to win.
Despite getting a good look at the basket, however, Mitchell’s short jumper rimmed out with two seconds left. Senior Summer Fields got the offensive rebound underneath but, covered by defenders, was unable to get off another shot.
“To have the ball with six or seven seconds left with a chance to win on your home court on a Friday night in front of a packed house … I was really proud of the way they competed,” Seton Keough coach Tom Gizzi said. “Our kids could’ve folded, but they battled back, and I love the way they held together.”
The win was a big one for Roland Park (5-0, 1-0), which had won its first four games by an average of 31 points.
“We played a couple nice teams in a tournament last week, but nothing that can match the kind of intensity that you’re going to get on a Friday on the road in the conference,” said Reds coach Scott Buckley, whose team began a stretch of three games in as many days.
Trailing by three early in the second half, Roland Park burst to the lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Alexander, who made four from beyond the arc in the second half.
Freshman Christyn Robinson’s layup with six minutes to play put the Reds up 53-46, but the Gators (3-2, 0-1) refused to go away, quickly getting back into the game on consecutive layups by Mitchell and junior Kayla Bacon.
They got a further boost when senior Ryan Holder and sophomore Aniyah Carpenter — two members of Roland Park’s seven-player rotation — each fouled out.
Seton Keough, however, floundered at the foul line, making just six of 15 attempts in the second half.