By Thomas Sellers Jr.
BARTLETT — Some of the biggest names in girls’ basketball endured the rainy, cold conditions Saturday to practice in a showcase held on the campus of Bartlett High School.
Two of the heavyweights under the lights were the White Station Lady Spartans and Millington Lady Trojans. Rivals back in the late 2000s, when the score was 56-53 in favor of White Station with 3 minutes and 11 seconds remaining, those classic nervous vibes were regenerated.
Then the Lady Spartans closed the game outscoring Millington 7-2 to prevail 63-55 in the showdown.
“Not having No. 1 hurts,” Millington Head Coach Jason Nichols said. “I am missing Ayanna Ransom. Trying to compete and get over the injury bug. Trying to get us ready for district in February, holding on trying to get fully healthy by February 1 and be ready to go.”
Adjusting to another new lineup, the Lady Trojans fell behind 19-11 after one quarter. The Lady Spartans jumped up 27-16 after a pair of foul shots from Ramya King.
The Lady Trojans began to prove they belonged, closing out the first half on a 11-6 run kickstarted by an Aubrey Young three-pointer. Then the Millington backcourt of No. 11 Micaiah Halliburton, No. 2 Keria McGhee and No. 0 Kayla Dotson started to navigate the basketball through the White Station defense, setting up teammates like Young and Savannah Spearman.
Spearman hit a basket inside to make the score 31-25. After McGhee hit a pair of free throws, the Lady Trojans were trailing by 4 points. King closed the second quarter with a bucket to make the halftime score 33-27.
White Station controlled the third quarter behind King and the hot outside shooting of Haeili Bradshaw. Bradshaw hit a pair of timely triples to stop Millington runs. White Station was ahead 49-37 entering the fourth period.
Millington fought back in the final quarter with a 16-7 run with Halliburton hitting a three-pointer and making a couple of layups off steals. The Lady Trojan pressure defense limited the effectiveness of White Station for most of the fourth quarter.
Then Sihirah Reese came to the rescue for White Station with the score 56-53. Reese grabbed a rebound off a missed foul shot and went back up for the bucket drawing a foul. Reese’s three-point play was the turning point leading to the White Station victory.
After suffering a tough road loss the previous night to district foe Fayette-Ware, the Lady Trojans were left to regroup.
“If we showed up like that last night, we’re 2-0 in our district right now,” Nichols said. “We fought and we clawed. I love my team in there. With all the injuries we have to find a way to put four good quarters together.”
Nichols said seeing a new name on the injury report before games is tough for the leader of the Lady Trojans.
“It’s very frustrating but I can’t show them that I am frustrated,” he acknowledged. “I got to keep fighting and clawing myself. But on the positive, I am getting big minutes out of Spearman right now. She’s really starting to understand.
“Aubrey made several threes today,” he continued. “That’s what I need my sophomore to do — step up. Everybody knows about No. 2, No. 0 and No. 11. Who’s going to be that next person and fill that void.”
Millington prepares to jump back into league play taking on the Raleigh portion of the schedule with Craigmont first and later the Raleigh-Egypt Lady Pharaohs.
But for one rainy Saturday, the Lady Trojans enjoyed their moment in the sun taking on a quality White Station team and pushing them to the limits.
“That means the program is back to where it was in ‘08 and ‘09,” Nichols concluded. “Playing in the big showcases and getting invited back to Tampa. We’ve been invited to Atlanta for a shootout game. We’re starting a legacy. There is basketball being played in Millington. The Lady Trojans are back and we’re not going away for a pretty good while.”
