Westwood senior Jaylen Adams lays in two of his 18 points over the River Bluff defense. (Photo/DeAnna Robinson)
BLYTHEWOOD – In spite of the collective punishment dished out to River Bluff Tuesday night, the Westwood boys’ and girls’ basketball squads wrap up their season on the wrong side of the class 3A playoff brackets. The Lady Redhawks finished the season with a 3-9 region record, two places out of playoff contention, while a string of late season losses dropped the boys just behind Camden for the last playoff berth.
Tuesday night, however, both teams were in top form. The Lady ‘Hawks delivered a 36-29 win over the Lady Gators in the season finale, while the boys hammered River Bluff 76-29.
The Lady Redhawks opened up a 13-6 first quarter lead, working the ball down low to Kayla Atkins with consistency and ease. Atkins dumped in six first quarter points and would ultimately lead all scorers on the night with 11. River Bluff went on a brief run to start the second quarter, closing the gap to 15-11 with 6:25 to play. Steals, turnovers and fouls propelled the Lady Gators’ rally, but it ended there as the Westwood defense shut down the River Bluff scoring. The Lady Gators soon fell victim to turnovers of their own, and poor ball handling left no fewer than six points on the floor during the second period. The Lady Gators managed to penetrate inside, but shots rattled off the rim and into the hands of the Westwood defense. The Lady Redhawks seized the momentum and stretched their lead to 22-11 at the half.
Late in the third, the Lady Gators brought the game to within eight, but Westwood recovered to end the period with a 30-20 advantage. Westwood senior Aubria Myers bowed out of her final contest in a Redhawk uniform, committing her fifth and final foul of the night with 4:45 left in the game. Myers finished the night with six points for the Lady ‘Hawks. Atkins followed Myers to the pine with 1:37 to play, but by then the victory was well in hand.
The boys’ game, on the other hand, would offer no such drama. The Gators began the game with a 2-0 advantage, sinking a pair of technical foul shots before the opening tip. The foul was assessed on the Redhawks for dunking during the warm-ups, and for the majority of the first quarter it appeared as though it would be the only points River Bluff would notch before the buzzer. However, with 33 seconds to play, River Bluff guard Jacob Foreman sank a jumper to end the Gator drought. The Redhawks, meanwhile, ran the floor with ease, threading the Gator defense like a highlight reel. It was, in the final analysis, like a drag race between a Ferrari and a John Deere lawn mower.
The Redhawks were the Ferrari.
Westwood tallied double digits in every single quarter Tuesday night, opening up a 24-4 first quarter lead and stretching that to 39-14 at the half. By the end of the third, the Redhawks had an insurmountable 59-22 advantage, and late in the fourth they flirted with the century gap. But head coach Terry Dozier called off the dogs, emptying his bench in the final minutes. Still, the Redhawk reserves found little resistance in the Gator defense. Westwood senior Antonio Wright led the pack with 24 points, followed by fellow senior Jaylen Adams with 18. Both seniors left the floor to standing ovations with 5:44 left in the match.