Heights girls survive Southeast

When the Southeast girls tied Heights with a minute to go on Tuesday, the likelihood they would beat Heights seemed stronger than when the Buffaloes led by six minutes earlier.

Southeast had come this far, and suddenly an upset seem a real possibilty.

The No. 2-ranked Falcons avoided a surprising result by scoring the last six points to escape 52-46 in a game they led for fewer than three minutes in the second half.

"They played hard, they played great, and they came out more focused than we did," Heights coach Kip Pulliam said. "They were doing all the right things and we were kind of going through the motions.

"Finally, in the last quarter, we finally woke up and won the game."

Heights' awakening happened after a Jamisha Bonner basket put Southeast ahead 38-32 with 6:52 to go in the fourth quarter.

To that point, the Buffaloes were keeping Heights off balance with defensive pressure that forced the Falcons to play too fast.

The in-your-face style kept Heights' guards off-balance and helped force 32 turnovers. The Falcons got the ball just enough to center Jhasmin Bowen, who made 8 of 11 shots and scored 22 points.

"Anytime you have a bunch of athletes, when they play teams who are not as athletic as they are, they get used to relying on their athletic abilities," Southeast coach LaToya Randle said. "We wanted to stay in front of them and make them use their head a little bit and not their athletic talent."

Jamillah Bonner led the charge for Southeast, making seven of her final eight shots after starting 0 for 6.

The junior point guard also involved her teammates, finding Tyana Clark and Takoya Thompson late with passes into the lane.

"She's evolving into a very good point guard," Randle said.

Bowen scored five points in the fourth quarter and gave Heights the lead with a free throw with 57 seconds to go. She also ended chances of a late Southeast rally with a putback with 15 seconds to go.

"I trust my guards and they're going to get the ball," Bowen said. "And if they don't then I'm going to get a rebound. If I'm not going to get it from the pass, I'll get it from a rebound. Nobody is going to outrebound me."

Bowen's output was key because Southeast shackled several key Falcons. Top reserve Mary Sims and starters Allegria Chisom and Kamisha Richard were held to eight combined points on 2-of-18 shooting.

But Southeast's physical play wasn't all good news — the Buffaloes sent Heights to the free-throw line 29 times, where the Falcons outscored Southeast 18-5.

"I knew they were going to foul us, they fouled us the last time we played them," Pulliam said. "They play hard, they're athletic, so they're going to give us all we want. You hoped we would have made the swing a little earlier, but we didn't. We waited until the end."

Southeast (11-5, 7-5) 6 18 10 12 — 46 Heights (14-1, 11-0) 10 13 9 20 — 52

SOUTHEAST: Jaml. Bonner 7 3-5 17, Broadus 2 0-0 5, Maxwell 3 0-0 6, Thompson 1 2-3 4, Jams. Bonner 1 0-0 2, Clark 5 0-0 10, Garnes 1 0-1 2. Totals 20 (1) 5-9 46.

HEIGHTS: Chandler 4 3-6 11, Pope 2 3-4 7, Palmer 0 2-2 2, Ivy 1 0-0 2, Chisom 0 2-2 2, Richard 2 2-4 6, Bowen 8 6-11 22. Totals 17 (0) 18-29 52.