Trezure Jobe’s free throws help South beat Maize girls

When Trezure Jobe stepped to the line to shoot four free throws in the final 20 seconds in a tight game against Maize, the South junior claimed she felt no pressure.

“Honestly, it wasn’t nerve-wracking at all,” Jobe said. “We rehearse that in practice all the time. Before the game, coach (Antwain Scales) told us it was going to come down to free throws and it did.”

Jobe made four straight free throws — the first two breaking a tie and the final two extending the lead — to help preserve South’s 41st consecutive victory in a 47-44 win over Maize in a makeup game played at East on Monday.

Jobe scored a game-high 21 points with 11 of those coming in the fourth quarter, as the No. 1-ranked Titans rallied from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter to improve to 10-0.

“Trezure has always been that type of player for us,” Scales said. “Even in practice. She’s just a junior, but she’s the bonafide leader of this team.”

South was always in control, although narrowly, in the first half. That changed when Maize senior Taylor Holmes went on a mini 5-0 run by herself to give Maize its first lead, 31-29, late in the third quarter on a three-pointer.

Maize would extend its lead to 38-33 with 5:56 remaining in the fourth quarter on an Autumn Hanna putback, but South would erase the five-point deficit in the matter of seconds when Jobe connected on a three-pointer and Kyla Callins (13 points) jumped in front of a pass for a steal and lay-up.

“Great defense is the most important thing for us,” Callins said. “That’s always a big focus and when people get steals like that, then it encourages our team even more.”

From there, Jobe and Holmes traded clutch baskets for their teams.

Jobe scored a driving layup to put South up 42-40, then Holmes answered with a step-back three-pointer to put Maize ahead 43-42 with 2:15 to play.

“Taylor is always going to be there for us in the big spots,” Maize coach Jarrod Handy said. “We battled. We made key shots, some big shots and we played our butts off. We just needed to do a few more things a little bit better.”

Callins would tie the game on a free throw, then Maize would turn the ball over. South held the ball for nearly a minute before Jobe was fouled, making both free throws for a 45-43 lead with 17 seconds left.

Holmes was fouled at the other end, making the first and watching the second swirl out of the basket and roll off the rim. Two more Jobe free throws pushed the lead to 47-44 and Maize was unable to get off a potential game-tying three-pointer.

“I’m really proud of my girls for this one,” Scales said. “We didn’t bring our best defensive effort, but we had a no-quit attitude and that was the determining factor in us being successful.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Trezure Jobe’s free throws help South beat Maize girls."