Lady Jags suffer slow 2nd half in loss

Mountain Brook accumulated basket after basket in transition on the way to a 62-50 victory at Spain Park on Friday night.

The Lady Spartans erased and overcame a ten-point halftime deficit with a huge 14-0 run to begin the third quarter. Sara Carr scored the first six points of the frame, and she finished with a game-high 21, converting multiple baskets on the fast break and on cuts to the hoop in the half court offense.

That success was nowhere to be found in the first half, as the Lady Jaguars began the game on a 13-4 run, punctuated by Claire Holt and Maggie Baldwin three-pointers. Arielle Parks ended the quarter with a four-point play, getting the shot from long distance to fall and drawing the foul.

Something changed after the halftime break, though, as Mountain Brook exploded out of the gates.

“The biggest thing was we attacked the press,” Lady Spartan head coach Mark Cornelius said. “We talked about it before the game, but we still played timid. But in the second half, it becomes either we’re going to do that or we’re going to lose.”

Spain Park’s offense hit a rut with a seven-point third quarter, as Mountain Brook got consecutive stops without allowing offensive rebounds. Those defensive boards turned into fast break offense, allowing for the Lady Spartans to gain control.

“You can’t get back into games if you don’t get stops,” Cornelius said. “If you get a stop and they get an offensive rebound, it doesn’t do you any good. They were one and done most of the second half, and that’s how we were able to get back in the game.”

Holt led the Lady Jags with 17 points in the game, but was held to just five in the second half. Baldwin, Parks, and Skyla Knight each scored eight on the night. Knight’s basket with a minute to play in the third gave Spain Park the lead at 41-40, but it was the Lady Jags’ last advantage of the game.

Walker Poe was sensational for the Lady Spartans, scoring 20 points, with eight of them in the final quarter to help put the game away.

Janie Branch scored a hard-earned 11 for Mountain Brook, all of them in the final two periods. Her play was exemplified by a play in the fourth quarter. Carr lost the ball in the air, and as it flew out of bounds, Branch leapt and batted the ball back in play. The basketball found its way back to Carr, who scored at the rim.

The win improves Mountain Brook to 2-0 in Class 7A, Area 6 play. Spain Park falls to 1-1 in the area.

Both teams return to the floor Tuesday night in area contests. The Spartans host Hewitt-Trussville and Spain Park stays at home to play Vestavia Hills.