In a game full of 3-pointers, it was an old fashioned three-point play by Orange County High Schools Erin Ryder that ultimately led to a 47-44 win for the Hornets over Halifax County High School Friday in the Conference 16 third-place game at Halifax County High School. <\/p>\n
The loss cost the Comets a berth in the 5A North Region Tournament, which would have been their first regional appearance since 2011. <\/p>\n
The Comets Dee Dee Jeffress, who scored 12 of her game high 19 points in the fourth quarter, tied the game at 42-42 with a made free throw with little more than a minute remaining in the game. <\/p>\n
Ryder converted the 3-point play after a drive to the basket seconds later to give her team a 45-42 lead, and a Jeffress steal and layup got the Comets to within one point at 45-44 before two foul shots by Ryder made it 47-44 with 33 seconds remaining. <\/p>\n
The Comets missed two chances to tie the game in the final seconds with a pair of misses from 3-point range. <\/p>\n
Halifax County High School connected on nine of 24 3-point attempts for the game, and Orange County High School connected on four of 12 three-point attempts. <\/p>\n
Brittany Clark, Malasia Boyd and Jeffress each hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter that countered three 3-pointers by the Hornets Laine Harrington to give the Comets a 15-13 lead. <\/p>\n
Jeffress and Clark each connected on a 3-pointer in the second quarter, with Clarks 3-pointer with seconds remaining giving the Comets a 25-23 lead at halftime. <\/p>\n
The Hornets went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter, including a 3-pointer from Ryder to take a 32-25 lead, but Boyd hit two 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the quarter, as the Comets pulled to within 35-34 with a quarter remaining. <\/p>\n
A Jeffress 3-pointer gave the Comets a 37-35 lead early in the fourth quarter, but another 7-0 run gave the Hornets a 42-37 advantage with three minutes remaining. <\/p>\n
The Comets pulled to within one point at 42-41 on a Jeffress 3-pointer before tying the game for the final time when Jeffress hit one of two free throws. <\/p>\n
Boyd finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers in her final high school game, and Clark and Tamiara Logan each counted a 3-pointer among their five points. <\/p>\n
Shadajah Davis added two points for the Comets, who were 7-14 at the free throw line with 19 turnovers. <\/p>\n
Harrington and Ryder led the Hornets with 15 and 12 points, respectively. <\/p>\n
Orange County High School committed 21 turnovers and was 13-20 at the charity stripe. <\/p>\n
Theres no one thing you can point to that cost us the game, and the only thing you can say is that it was a good ball game by both teams, said Comets Head Coach David Graham. <\/p>\n
We played hard, it was a tight ball game all the way, we made some good shots and played good defense, but it was just a matter of getting the breaks at the end. <\/p>\n
The Comets have come a long ways this year, considering what theyve had to deal with, including the death of teammate Casey Pulliam in an auto accident shortly before Christmas, according to Graham. <\/p>\n
Even with our height disadvantage, theyve done extremely well. We started with 10 (players) and ended up with eight, said Graham. <\/p>\n
The Comets still fought through all the diversity and had a chance to go to the regional tournament, Graham noted. <\/p>\n
The Comets lose only two seniors, Malasia Boyd and Shadajah Davis, so the future looks bright, Graham added. <\/p>\n
We have some good kids off of jayvee who will help next year, and of course the middle school just won the championship, so they have a nice crew there, explained Graham. <\/p>\n
The girls have hung together, and Sam (Edmonds), the assistant coach, has been a big inspiration for them. <\/p>\n
He does a great job of coaching, and we were lucky to have him this year. <\/p>\n
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Lady Comets fall short in regional bid | Prep Sports | yourgv.com - YourGV.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a game full of 3-pointers, it was an old fashioned three-point play by Orange County High Schools Erin Ryder that ultimately led to a 47-44 win for the Hornets over Halifax County High School Friday in the Conference 16 third-place game at Halifax County High School. The loss cost the Comets a berth in the 5A North Region Tournament, which would have been their first regional appearance since 2011 Continue reading