Defense carries Briarcrest girls past Father Ryan, 29-18

image and article from Commercial Appeal

Briarcrest's Jasmine Cincore heads to the board against Father Ryan during the Division 2-AA state quarterfinal Friday night in Eads.

The Briarcrest girls basketball team couldn’t buy a basket Friday night and their performance from the free-throw line left a lot to be desired as well.

But good defense can make an ugly game look a whole lot better.

The Saints held visiting Nashville Father Ryan scoreless in the first quarter and repeated the feat in the fourth quarter to defeat the Irish, 29-18. The victory, Briarcrest’s 26th in a row, sends the Saints into the Division 2-AA state semifinals Thursday at Allen Arena in Nashville.

“It was an ugly game,” said Briarcrest coach Lee Smith. “Father Ryan is an extremely well-coached and disciplined team. They’re the most disciplined team we’ve played in two years.

“This is the toughest game, just getting to Nashville. I’ve always said that just getting out of Memphis is the toughest thing (to do).”

The Saints went just 50 percent from the free-throw line and their normally reliable 3-point shooters missed all 11 attempts. But Briarcrest (27-1) survived, thanks to a terrific defensive effort that limited the Irish (13-14) to just seven baskets.

“Our defense was superb in places,” said Smith. “We had a couple of breakdowns ... (but) we didn’t give up anything in transition. We just couldn’t make any shots; we never got comfortable on offense.”

Memphis’ other two D2-AA hopefuls were eliminated Friday. Harpeth Hall outscored St. Agnes 22-3 in the first quarter and went on to beat the Stars (13-7), 58-22. St. Benedict was close for three quarters against Brentwood Academy but was outscored 15-0 in the fourth quarter and lost, 43-23.
In other games

SBEC advances to state: Eighth-grader Ashtyn Baker hit a buzzer-beater in overtime to send Southern Baptist Educational Center to the Division 2-A semifinals next week with a 48-47 victory over Ezell-Harding. Kayleigh Patterson had 13 points for the Trojans (25-7).



Region 8-AAA: Old Dominion signee Odegua Oigbokie scored 29 points and Ridgeway improved to 29-2 with a 66-44 victory over Whitehaven in a quarterfinal game. ... Baylor signee Nina Davis scored 33 points to lead Central to a 60-41 victory over Collierville. The Lady Warriors are 22-4. ... Freshman standout Jaida Roper scored 21 points and Aysha Harris added 19 as Houston eliminated East, 74-52. ... Philecia Atkins had 18 points as Overton defeated White Station, 55-37.

Region 7-AAA: Shaliyah Wiggins scored 18 points to lead Munford (25-5) to a 74-49 victory over Craigmont in the quarterfinals. ... Hardin County ended Arlington’s season at 17-10, winning 60-46. ... Dyer County eliminated Bolton, 66-62, and District 14-AAA champion Millington fell to Jackson North Side, 61-53.

Region 8-AA: Marchesia Drummer poured in 40 points as Trezevant (16-9) eliminated Fairley, 78-27. ... Tiffany Jones scored 24 points to lead Manassas (19-6) to a 63-37 victory over Carver. ... Douglass (18-11) eliminated Mitchell, 65-48, behind 26 points from Gazmune Herndon.

Region 7-AA: Precious Harvey scored 25 points to lead Covington (31-2) to a 77-49 victory over Jackson South Side.

Region 8-A: District 16 champion Booker T. Washington ends the year with a 26-4 mark after falling to Scott’s Hill, 49-36.