Weekend Sweep for Lady Cavs
Cavs take out Rival SCPS, then Windsor Forest
Lady Cavs down Raiders again
By Rich McGowan
By any measure, Calvary Day's girls basketball team has Savannah Christian's number.
The Cavaliers' defeated the Raiders, 53-40, Friday night for the second time in three weeks and their ninth consecutive victory over their cross-town rivals.
"We've been blessed the last couple of years with some talented people, and we play hard," said Calvary coach Jackie Hamilton. "I thought tonight we played really tough defensively and that made it tough for them to score. If we can make it tough for them to score, we're always going to be in the game."
Calvary forced 20 Raider turnovers and kept SCPS out of an offensive rhythm for much of the game.
The Raiders haven't beaten the Cavaliers since December of 2006.
"I don't know if it's a mental block," said SCPS coach Toy Byrd, "(Calvary) has worked really hard to build their program, they play pretty much year-round and they practice year-round. They've just done a really good job of getting their kids fundamentally sound."
With the Cavaliers leading by six points with 2 minutes, 33 seconds to play in the third quarter, Calvary sophomores Kelsey Ellis and Rachel LeGear combined to put the game out of reach.
Ellis first drove to the basket for a nice layup. Moments later she came up with a steal and found LeGear, who gave the ball back to Ellis for a nice give and go and another basket. Less than a minute later LeGear finished a nice drive to the hoop with another bucket.
SCPS' Taylor Turner finally answered the run with a bucket with 16 seconds to play, but LeGear responded by sinking a long jumper just inside the 3-point line before time expired in the quarter. Calvary's 6-point lead had expanded to a 37-25 advantage thanks to Ellis and LeGear's combined 9-3 run.
Ellis and LeGear each finished with a team-high 13 points and six rebounds and a pair of assists and steals.
"They're very talented athletically," Hamilton said. "They're great basketball players. You don't get too many sophomores like those two."
Check basketball stats at savannahnow.com/prepcentral.
Calvary led by double digits for most of the fourth quarter. SCPS briefly cut the lead to as little as six points, but the Cavaliers quickly pulled out ahead again and cruised to the victory.
The win improves Calvary to 12-1 overall and 4-0 in Region 3-A (East) play. SCPS falls to 8-2, 3-1.
"It's a confidence thing," Hamilton said of his team's success of SCPS. "You get to where you feel like you should win and that's a huge factor. I think if you believe you're going to win the game ... it carries you a long way."
SCPS' Adrienne DeFilippis' (20 points) and Kelly Reid (13) combined to score 33 of the Raiders' 40 points. Reid also grabbed 11 rebounds while DeFilippis grabbed seven boards.
"We're relying on Adrienne and Kelly," Byrd said. "That's a little bit scary since we're a little over halfway through the year. We have to get the other girls believing they can produce."
SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN (53)
Adrienne DeFilippis 20, Kelly Reid 13, Turner 3, Friess 4.
CALVARY DAY (40)
Kelsey Ellis 13, Rachel LeGear 13, Emily Carter 10, Canady 5, Baham 7, Burk 2, Badger 3.
Halftime-CD 23-19. Records-CD 12-1 overall, 4-0 Region 3-A , SCPS 8-2, 3-1.
Lady Cavs complete weekend sweep with win over Windsor Forest. After a emotional night with a big rival win it is easy to let your guard down in a non-region game. The Lady Cavs made their way through the ups and downs of the game to prevail over the Lady Knights 66-55. Sr. Sonny Canady led all scores with 17 and Soph. Kelsey Ellis followed up her big performance last night with a 15 point outing. The Lady Cavs travle to Bryan County Tuesday night which will see them face a much better Lady Redskin Team than in the past.
