Raiders beat Cavaliers after 10 defeats; head to Class A semifinals

Cavs fall to rival in Elite 8

By Rich McGowan
COLUMBUS - Moments after leaving the floor after their fourth meeting of the season against arch-rival Calvary Day, Savannah Christian's girls basketball team huddled together and let out a joyful, primal scream.

Demons exorcised.

Cavaliers defeated.

Season continues.

After 10 straight defeats, including three this year, the Raiders finally got the better of their Region 3-A rivals with a 50-41 victory and earned a trip to the Class A Final Four.

And at the center of the Raiders' post-game celebration was senior Adrienne DeFilippis, who had been on the wrong end of the scoreboard of every one of the last 10 meetings against the Cavaliers.

"It feels so good," said DeFilippis, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. "I've waited four years to beat that team, and we did it at the most important time."

Prior to the game, SCPS coach Toy Byrd tried to downplay the rivalry to her team, but when the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Raiders' finally vented the frustrations the Cavaliers had caused them for so long.

"I kept trying to downplay it ... but there is all this bubbling inside, we all can't help it," Byrd said. "We beat them when it counted and that was overwhelming to them."

Playing a disciplined 3-2 zone defense, Savannah Christian (20-6 overall) forced Calvary to shoot from the perimeter where the Cavaliers experienced an off-night.

Calvary made just six field goals through three quarters and entered the fourth trailing by 15, 37-22.

"I thought we didn't move the ball enough, and when we did get some good looks, they just didn't go down," said Calvary coach Jackie Hamilton. "We didn't get many second-chance shots, and we didn't get turnovers to get some transition baskets."

SCPS outrebounded Calvary 40-24, limiting the Cavs' offensive opportunities. On the other end of the floor, the Raiders, played a patient half-court offense, moved the ball around well and hit their shots. SCPS had 12 assists on 20 field goals.

"Coach Byrd said if we controlled the boards, we'd control the game and that's exactly what we did," said SCPS junior forward Kelly Reid, who scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Though Reid and DeFilippis have often been at the center of Savannah Christian's scoring this season, the first quarter saw an unusual suspect lead the Raider cause.

With her team leading 7-6 early on, junior forward Taylor Turner scored four unanswered baskets to give the Raiders' the game's first scoring run. First she hit on a mid-range baseline jumper, then on a lay-in off an assist from Sarah Byrd. A minute later she grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on the put-back and hit another jumper from another Byrd assist.

Calvary never again came closer than four points, and Turner's eight-point outburst was the game's longest scoring run.

"Taylor played unbelievable," DeFilippis said. "With her it becomes about confidence, and she has it right now and she stepped up big time."

Taylor's eight-straight points gave her team a 15-6 lead and wasn't answered until Sonny Canady scored for Calvary with under three second to go in the first quarter.

But Canady's basket was the Cavaliers' only one for a 9 ?-minute stretch from the middle of the first quarter to more than halfway through the second.

When sophomore Kelsey Ellis nailed a 3-pointer with 3:49 to play in the opening half, it was only the team's fourth basket of the game and SCPS held a 10-point lead.

The second half saw SCPS continue to pound the glass on both ends and extended its lead. The Raiders led by 15 entering the fourth quarter though Calvary had one last charge in it.

Calvary made seven baskets in the final period, one more than the first three quarters combined, and made a steady stream of trips to the free throw line.

A 3-pointer by Canady trimmed Calvary's deficit to just four points with 37 seconds to play, but SCPS' junior guard Randi Friess went 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the final minute to end Calvary's hopes for a miracle 11th-straight win over the Raiders.

"We talked before the game about keeping our composure, and that's what we had to do today and we did it," DeFilippis said.

Ellis led Calvary (28-3) with 17 points and nine rebounds while sophomore Rachel LeGear added nine. Canady's stellar career came to a close with a nine-point, four assist effort.

"She was our leader on the court and in practice," Hamilton said of Canady. "She was the one who gets everyone going. She can do so many things, she can shoot, pass and play defense. You don't get too many like her."

The Raiders will play in the semifinal Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Macon against the winner between Southwest Atlanta Christian and Paideia who play tonight 7 p.m. in Marietta.

Said Byrd: "I'll be heading to Marietta."

SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN (50)

Kelly Reid 14, Adrienne DeFilippis 14, Turner 8, Randi Friess 12, Byrd 2.

CALVARY DAY (41)

Kelsey Ellis 17, Sonny Canady 9, LeGear 9, Baham 3, Badger 3.

Halftime-23-15, SCPS Records-SCPS 20-6; CD 28-3