At the end of the first quarter of Friday’s game, the LaFayette varsity girls team trailed area opponent Ranburne by two. LaFayette dug itself a hole early in the quarter, one that it never truly came back from, losing 68-65.

“We went in and just talked about how we wanted to play our style of basketball,” LaFayette head coach Fred Bridges said. 

In the second quarter, LaFayette started to get into a rhythm. Feliah Greer, who missed the first quarter, was her usual unstoppable force on the offensive side of the ball. She finished with nine of the 15 second-quarter points. She also was the team’s primary ball-handler finding teammates open for passes. 

“When she came in, she brought a spark to the team, something that we needed,” Bridges said. “It got everybody rolling.” 

With Greer in the game, Ranburne’s defense started closing in tighter, allowing open looks from the perimeter. This allowed junior Ebony Williams space to fire shots from the outside, nailing two threes in the quarter. 

The trend continued for the rest of the game as Williams hit three more long jumpers, while Alabrah Todd hit one as well.

“That comes from just working in practice and building the girl’s confidence,” Bridges said. “We want everyone to feel comfortable in their game because everyone is going to bring something to the team.”

The full-court press worked well in the third quarter, as it helped LaFayette score quickly whenever it could force turnovers.

The comeback fell short mainly because LaFayette just ran out of time.

Greer finished with a team-high 22 points, while Williams finished with 20. 

Williams was the best perimeter weapon for Bridges’ group, as she hit six threes in the game. 

“She was a big factor tonight, considering she had a sprained ankle,” Bridges said. “She came out and gave us some big minutes tonight. She was able to knock down some big shots,”

LaFayette falls to 0-6 on the season and 0-1 in its area. 

“Unfortunately, the record doesn’t show the way we look,” Bridges said. “We’re climbing in the right direction.”