Published: 11:20 PM, Fri Dec 14, 2012
South View girls steal win from Pine Forest, 51-49
South View guard Jasmine Brown has been averaging close to four steals a game this season.
She managed just two in the Tigers' Friday night contest at Pine Forest, but they were major.
The junior picked the ball twice in final 20 seconds to help preserve South View's lead in the Tigers' 51-49 win over the Trojans.
Brown's talent for thievery hasn't gone unnoticed by coach Brent Barker.
"I have to tell the other players in practice that they can't throw the ball that close to Jasmine," the coach said. "She anticipates so well."
The win gives the Tigers (6-1 overall) a 1-0 start in Mid-South 4-A Conference play.
"The win is very important," Brown said. "The way we come out shows opponents that we're here to win."
Brown's first steal came on the heels of a pair of missed free throws by the guard with 20.3 seconds left. Brown's miss was rebounded by the Trojans' Ashley May.
Brown swiped the ball in the lane and layed it in to give the Tigers a 51-49 lead.
Brown went back to the line with less than five seconds remaining. Another pair of misses resulted in a rebound by Pine Forest guard Monet Turnipseed, who was picked by Brown inside the arc to retain the lead.
Brown finished the night with 13 points, bested by teammate Kanesha Lankford and May, who each scored 17.
The Tigers came from seven points down at halftime to take the win.
The Trojans gained an edge in the first half on the strength of some inside work by May and outside shooting of Tyranny Bethea, who scored 11 of her 12 points in the half.
South View figured out the Trojans' press in the second half and worked a series of diagonal passes inside for layups by Lankford and forward Chinyere Bell.
"The defense was more spread out than we thought they'd be," Brown said. "So, we were able to get the ball to open spots."
Trojans coach Jeff Bruner conceded that the spread was too far.
"The back row of our defense was creeping up," the coach said. "We've got part of our team gambling, and we've got to get everybody to do it."
Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at 609-0651 or shambaughj@fayobserver.com.Girls' basketball South View 51, Pine Forest 49
South View
9
13
16
13-51
Pine Forest
13
16
9
11-49
SOUTH VIEW- Jasmine Brown 13, Ky. Lankford 3, Oliphant 2, Kanesha Lankford 17, Williams 4, Chinyere Bell 12
PINE FOREST- Tyranny Bethea 12, Ashley May 17, >L. Evans 2, Shirlee Evans 12, Turnipseed 6
Fouled out: PF - L. Evans, S. Evans
Technical fouls: None
3-point goals: SV - Brown, Ky. Lankford, Williams; PF - Bethea 2
Records: South View 6-1, 1-0; Pine Forest 7-1, 0-1