Strong first half leads Gryphons to the title

Telegram photo / Abbi O’Leary
Rocky Mount Highs Keyanna Spivey, right, goes up for a basket as Nash Centrals Rebecca Speight attempts to block her Thursday during the Nash County Holiday Tournament at Southern Nash High School

BAILEY – The barrage started with a Michelle Gainey 3-pointer and it never relented Thursday night.

Rocky Mount High raced out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, and kept Nash Central from scoring a basket in open play until the second half in a dominant 53-31 victory over the Bulldogs in the final of the Nash County Holiday Tournament.

“It came together (Thursday),” Gryphons coach Pam Gainey said. “You just have to be focused on the task at hand. The crowd is big and it’s an emotional time when you’re playing people from across town, but you just need to maintain focus on what we do, making sure our structure is correct and doing the little things in between.”

The Gryphons (7-2) played some of their best defense of the season in the first half, neutralizing the Bulldogs’ potent shooters and suffocating any attack Nash Central tried to mount. A man-to-man defense that extended well-past the three-point line trapped the ball handler on several occasions and Rocky Mount High was able to shift to the ball before Nash Central knew where it wanted to pass.

“We were on task and we communicated pretty well to get to the places we needed to be,” Pam Gainey said.

The defensive pressure frustrated the Bulldogs to the point where Robbi Allen picked up a technical for throwing the ball away after a foul was called. It was the only visible sign of frustration from the Bulldogs on the court to the untrained eye, but the team that was playing loose and free for the first part of the season was clearly missing Thursday.

The Bulldogs (7-1) scored their first points of the night on a free throw with six minutes left in the second quarter, and didn’t score their first field goal until Myia Spivey made a layup about a minute into the third. By that point, the damage had been done.

“We didn’t even attempt to run our fastbreak, which is how we get most of our offense,” Nash Central coach Terri Cash said. “We went away from what we do. … I didn’t think we played bad defense, we just didn’t get into a flow offensively.”

The defensive pressure opened the floor for the Gryphons to break out into transition, and the left the Bulldogs’ defense chasing the ball for most of the first half. Mya Pittman knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half to complement the bruising post play of Keyanna Spivey, who scored 16 points for the second consecutive game to earn MVP honors.

That duo, aided by 15 points from Michelle Gainey, set the tone for the Gryphons all night.

Spivey’s performance was a maturation of the player who earned All-Area first team honors last season. Known primarily for her ability to dominate in the post, Spivey showcased some of her ballhandling skills Thursday to help start rushes up the floor. Pam Gainey said Spivey’s performance will be important for the Gryphons’ success moving forward.

“She’s really got some footwork down on the inside, which allows her to be successful despite being undersized,” Pam Gainey said. “She’s getting better and we’re able to play her not just under the basket.”

Pittman is merely a freshman, but she came through in the first three quarters for Rocky Mount High. She did most of her damage from the corner where the Bulldogs failed to rotate and guard her. The result was a season-best 15 points for Pittman in the championship game.

Her coach said the freshman has shown an eagerness to learn and it is starting to show in her play on the court particularly in the past three days.

“She pays attention really well and she listens,” Pam Gainey said. “When I talk to her about making an adjustments, she’s really listening and trying to get better.”

Allen scored 11 fourth-quarter points to lead the Bulldogs in scoring followed by 8 from Kathryn Wilkins and 6 from Myia Spivey.

By Josh walfish

Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Thursday, December 17, 2015