Chris Whitaker
THOMASVILLE — Lauren Johnson scored 18 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as Brookwood handed Southland Academy its third region loss with a 57-49 defeat on Tuesday.
Savannah Singletary helped as she scored 18, including 13 in the first half.
"(Johnson) came out subdued in the first half, and we took advantage," said Lady Raiders coach Paula McDonald. "But we didn't keep the intensity level up in the second half. We were doing too much helping off Singletary, and when they found her, she was open, and she lit it up."
The game was tied at 26 at the half when Southland (13-10, 3-3 3-AAA) fell behind for good in the third, trailing 36-31, entering the final eight minutes.
Southland shot 24 percent in the second half and finished with 22 turnovers.
Sara Cathryn Parker led the Lady Raiders with 14 points; she also had six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Sara Schuster scored 11, and Caitlin Reid had 10 with nine rebounds.
"Our intensity level on defense needs to get better," said McDonald. "We're not seeing this as the home stretch of the season. We're seeing it more as a coast rather than gearing down for tougher opponents. Everyone is getting better at this time of year, and we're supposed to be getting better. We can't put all aspects together for one complete game.
"The girls are not quite confident playing the kind of game I want to play. They're in a comfort zone, but I expect more."
Southland is back at home on Friday to host Calvary Christian
Boys
Southland 27, Brookwood 22
Jose Hernandez scored 10 points, and Rolie Hancock had nine as the Raiders (7-13, 1-6) won their first region game.
Southland led 11-8 in the second quarter when Brookwood held the ball for the final five minutes before missing a shot to end the half.
"I knew going in they didn't shoot the ball very well from the outside," said coach Ernest Scott. "So, we played a 2-3 zone. Apparently, they wanted to bring us out and play m an. They were losing, so it makes no sense to me to play man-to-man and give them what they want."
The Raiders led by one at the end of the third before holding on to win by five.
Andres Charparo had six points to go with a team-high eight rebounds and five assists.
Southland shot 10 of 27 for the game and was 7-for-13 inside the arc.
Jacob Dennis led the Warriors with 10 points, including two 3-pointers.
"They couldn't score from the zone set," said Scott. "They got two open looks, and that was Dennis hitting two threes because we left him open. For the most part, they didn't do anything else."
The win keeps the Raiders alive for the third spot in region, but they need to beat Calvary Christian on Friday in Americus and have Brookwood beat Calvary.
