Grapeland Claims Bi-District Title in a Rout

Sandiettes Slay Lady Gladiators, 85-50

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

FAIRFIELD – The 2017-2018 UIL Girls’ Basketball Playoffs are underway and the Grapeland Sandiettes tipped off what will hopefully be a deep postseason run against the Italy Lady Gladiators on Tuesday, Feb. 13 in Fairfield.

Grapeland came into the game as the number one seed from District 20-2A while Italy was the four seed out of District 19-2A.

Initially, it looked like the Sandiettes might have a fight on their hands as they only led by a score of 5-4 at the 3:16 mark of the first quarter.

Perhaps it was the nerves of an opening round playoff game, but Grapeland’s shots were simply not falling which allowed Italy to hang around. Even though the Sandiettes’ offense struggled, it was their defense that gave the team a jump start.

With only a one point lead, the Sandiettes switched into a trapping defense and it immediately began to pay dividends as they closed out the quarter on a 13-2 run. Tatiyanna Bowie led the way for the Sandiettes in the first quarter with six points. Ragan Bowie had five, Teira Jones had three and both KeKe Harris along with Kenya Woods dropped in two to make the score 18-6, after the first eight minutes of play.

The Lady Gladiators were paced by T’Keyah Pace with four and Brycelen Richards with two.

The Sandiettes offense exploded in the second quarter as Grapeland poured in 31 points compared to Italy’s 10.

Harris led the Sandiettes in the second quarter with nine points while Hannah Chipman netted eight. R. Bowie threw in six, Woods had four while both T. Bowie and DeDe McKnight had two which brought the halftime score to 49-16.

Italy’s points came from Emily Cunningham with five, Shaniaya Johnson with three and Richards with two.

After the break, the Sandiettes put the game on ice as they continued their torrid offensive pace while limiting the Lady Gladiators shot attempts.

Woods went off in the third quarter and netted 11. She was joined in the scoring column by Chipman with six while both T. Bowie and McKnight had four to close out the period with a 74-25 lead.

Chardanae Talton scored six of the nine Italy points while Andrea Slade had two and Johnson had one.

As the fourth quarter began, Grapeland Coach Anthony DeCello began to give some of the less experienced team members some quality minutes. Jones led the way for the Sandiettes with four points, while Gracie Conner drained a shot from behind the arc for three points. R. Bowie and McKnight had two apiece to close out the scoring for the Sandiettes and help give Grapeland the 85-50 win.

For the game, Italy was led in scoring by Shaniaya Johnson with 14 points and Emily Cunningham with 13. Brycelen Richards dropped in nine, both T’Keyah Pace along with Chardanae Tarlton had six and Andrea Slade chipped in two points to close out the Lady Gladiators’ point production.

The Sandiettes had five players score in double digits. Kenya Woods had 17 points to lead all scorers. Hannah Chipman knocked down 14, Ragan Bowie had 13, Tatiyanna Bowie powered her way inside for 12, and KeKe Harris went for 11. DeDe McKnight added eight, Teira Jones had eight and Gracie Conner connected on a three-pointer to round out the Grapeland scoring.

Following the game Coach DeCello commented on his team’s performance.

In regard to the sluggish start, he said, “I think it was a little bit of nervousness. I didn’t say too much to the girls. Sometimes they are so pumped up, they can’t seem to get into a flow. I let it go because as hard as we were playing defense, I knew they would relax. After a while, it became all about making plays on the defensive end. After that we got into a nice little flow. We got used to who was effective on their team.”

“I thought Kenya Woods had one heck of a game,” DeCello added. “She was playing against their best player and was right in her face. She made it difficult for her and the rotations on the defensive end were good. Plus, we had balanced scoring. The kids shared the basketball well and it was a good team win.”

Next up for the Sandiettes will be the Axtell Longhorns in the Area Round of the playoffs. The game will be played Friday, Feb. 16 in Buffalo. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].