Pass Christian closes out hot, survives in Class 4A playoffs
Pass High and Lawrence County had eight lead changes when Cayla Obillo sank two free throws to give the Lady Pirates a 29-27 lead with 4:45 left in the third quarter. From that point on, the Lady Pirates outscored Lawrence County 13-3 to close out the third quarter, on their way to a 53-42 win in the first round of the 4A playoffs in Pass Christian.
The Lady Pirates trailed Lawrence County by 2 points at halftime, 24-22. The Lady Pirates came out and turned it up a notch on both ends of the court in the third quarter, outscoring Lawrence County 18-5 in the period. Lawrence County would score on a layup and a free throw to open third quarter scoring as they extended their lead to 5 points at 27-22.
Maliyah Bullard got the Lady Pirates going with a 3-point shot on their next possession. The Lady Pirates’ defense collected a steal as the ball crossed mid court and Obillo scored on a layup in traffic.
Amara Galatas scored on layup off of a steal and an assist by Daysia Dedeaux. On their next possession, Obillo grabbed a rebound and pivoted away from the defender for a layup. The Lady Pirates enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 33-27, and Lawrence County didn’t appear to have an answer.
“We went into the locker room and talked about loosening up on offense. That’s been our struggle since we’ve entered the district tournament,” said Lady Pirates coach Greta Ainsworth. “I think they want it so bad that they’re real tight on offense.
“I told them that if they wanted to win this game that they were going to have to put on their warrior suit and they were going to have to go to war. That team was much stronger and much more physical than us. We had to keep them off the boards. Every point they were getting was second and third and fourth chances.”
During that third quarter rally, Emory Benoit scored on back-to-back possessions, first on a layup and the next time down from behind the arc, giving the Lady Pirates their first double digit lead of the night at 38-27.
Obillo led the third-quarter rally with 8 points, 2 points coming from just inside the arc to close out the third quarter scoring and a 40-29 lead for the Lady Pirates.
“She thinks that she’s 7 foot tall,” said Ainsworth of Obillo’s inside play. “She plays like she’s seven foot tall sometimes. She’s not afraid. She’s going to go in and take it to the hole when no one else will.”
Obillo led the Lady Pirates with 17 points. Dedeaux added 12 points, and Bullard scored 8 points.
The Lady Pirates improved to 21-10 on the season, and they are playing with a great deal of intensity and confidence.
“They believe in one another enough that they know they’re not out of it,” said Ainsworth. “They believe in each other and they believe in their defense. Defense is going to make their offense, and that’s what we lived on since Christmas.”
The Lady Pirates will host a second round game on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Pass Christian closes out hot, survives in Class 4A playoffs."