Homestead is champions once again in the SAC Holiday Tournament.
The Spartans got 17 points and nine rebounds from Sydney Graber and 15 from Ayanna Patterson to beat Soutu Side 52-43 in the championship game.
Homestead has now won four of the last five SAC tournaments.
“It is really bittersweet for me,” Homestead’s Sydney Graber said. “Senior year is a year of many lasts so why not come out with a bang? I am glad we put everything together and pulled out a win tonight.”
The teams traded shots through the first quarter with Olivia Smith stepping up into the primary scoring role for South Side while the Spartans keyed on Jaci Jones following her big morning performance. Smith attacked the basket aggressively to register six of her team’s first eight points but Homestead established an early lead with a balanced scoring effort from their starting lineup in the opening frame.
Smith’s step back three pointer in space with 58 seconds left in the first quarter sent the lead back to one for South Side at the break, 13-12.
“They really showed maturity and didn’t panic,” interim Homestead coach Kara Ankenbruck said of the multiple challenges for the Spartans. “They kept making sure that they valued every possession and took care of the ball. That was a big thing today.”
The second quarter saw Homestead pound the paint with interior passes up the baseline from Grace Sullivan and Rylie Parker down to Ayanna Patterson and Graber. Those strong passes set up the posts for easy buckets, giving Homestead back a lead despite South’s continued intelligent play offensively. That play and Graber’s rebounding played the biggest roles in Homestead’s 22-17 lead at the halftime break. Jones, fresh off her record breaking semi final appearance, was held scoreless in the first half on 0-of-6 shooting.
Jones hit the 1,000 point mark for her career near the seven minute mark of the third quarter, another great mark for her on a big day during her senior season.
The Archers pulled back within one with 3:43 to play when they went away from the perimeter and Alaya Chapman scored with an up and under in the paint. Lamyia Woodson blocked a shot the the next possession, but the Archers came up empty in their attempt to take the lead and control midway through the third quarter. But as the possessions seesawed, it was again Chapman who became the steady hand. The four year Archer varsity player calmly backed down Graber to give the Archers a lead back with just over two minutes to play in the third and you could immediately see the confidence rise for the Archers.
The Spartans, as they do, struck back. After a mad scramble for the ball with just over a minute left in the third, Parker made an extra pass out to the wing where Grace Sullivan knocked down her second triple of the game, flexing a little bit of that Homestead scoring depth and taking back control again to end the quarter, 32-29.
Freshman Alison Stephens facilitated the first score of the fourth just seconds after checking into the game, finding a cutting Patterson at the basket. A Woodson offensive foul later and South Side was forced to call a timeout to try and break Homestead’s momentum in a five point game with 7:09 left. But instead, Homestead came out of the timeout with a quick hitter designed that led to a mostly uncontested point blank layup from Graber.
“The fact that they can step in off the bench and hit some needed shots helped us down the stretch,” Graber said of a reserve core of players that stepped up throughout he tournament for Homestead.
Patterson found herself on the glass in the fourth, registering three offensive rebounds in critical minutes that helped Homestead get multiple looks at the rim during their possessions. Patterson used her body well, creating space with her length and ability to lean and hit from 10 feet and in. With 4:45 left, it was a confident jumper from Stephens that that extended the Spartan lead to eight; Graber pushed it to double digits from the free throw line moments later at 44-34. Jas Combs, Stephens and Smith then alternated three pointers as the Archers tried valiantly to stay in this one.
“Playing two games today, we had a lot of fatigue mentally and physically but we really kept our composure tonight,” Graber said. “The ball moved really well and I think we were all great teammates and had great leadership. I’m really excited with how we played.”
As South Side’s shots didn’t go down in the closing minutes, Homestead was able to milk time off the clock and finish things off at the foul line.
Smith finished with a game high 20 points for South Side, who also got 10 points from Alaya Chapman.
For Ankenbruck, she had been on this stage before but certainly in a different role as the assistant for Rod Parker, who was in attendance all tournament long sitting at the end of the Spartan bench. This year, she had to take the lead and make decisions to lead to another title.
“Even though I haven’t been in this role before, they have. All the credit to them. They got the job done,” Ankenbruck said of her team. “This is one of the goals we talked about at the beginning of the year. We just wanted to represent Homestead today. That is what we did.”
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