Wichita South girls beat Derby in battle of unbeatens (+video)

Through the course of studying Derby, Wichita South girls coach Antwain Scales noted that most opponents played a zone defense as a way to nullify what 6-foot-5 freshman Kennedy Brown can do inside. It’s an understandable plan because the freshman can dominate offensively and defensively.

But unlike every other team, South has 6-2 senior Kendrian Elliott and can afford to go one-on-one.

“I knew they were a good threat as far as shooting,” Scales said. “We said, ‘if you sit back in a zone with Derby, you’re going to get killed.’ We preach man defense at South High, so it was a situation where we guarded and got tight.”

South used that defense to beat Derby 48-34 in the championship game of the Lawrence Free State tournament on Saturday. South (13-0) held Derby (12-1) scoreless in the first quarter and led 17-4 at the half.

“We were a little bit tight to start the game,” said Derby coach Jodie Karsak, whose team had one three-pointer through the first three quarters. “We missed some little bunnies.

“I will say this — that’s the best defense we’ve seen all year. They played us pretty much straight up one-on-one.”

South forced 13 turnovers, including five in the first quarter when sophomore guard Trezure Jobe had three steals. Junior forward Kyla Callins finished with three steals.

“We work really hard and we play man on pretty much every team, no matter how quick they are,” Elliott said. “That’s what we talked about in the locker room prior to the game — how a lot of people play the 2-3 zone (against Derby), but they have a lot of talented shooters. We wanted to try to man up and get a hand in their faces.”

Elliott had 16 points and 13 rebounds, including six offensive boards.

She wasn’t left to defend Brown alone, either.

“She’s a really talented player,” Elliott said. “… I have to give a lot of credit to my team on doubling and helping down on the big. I played behind her for the majority of the time because I didn’t want them to lob it over the top of my head.”

Brown, who had two blocked shots and 11 points, scored Derby’s first points early in the second quarter, ending a drought of more than nine minutes.

Derby got within 8-4, but South guard Ericka Mattingly drove inside, drew the defense and dumped it off to Elliott for the basket. On South’s next possession, Jobe hit a three.

She scored again when the Derby defense followed Elliott out to the left wing, opening up the lane for Jobe. South capped its 9-0 run with a reverse layup by Callins.

Jobe finished with 11 points, while Callins had six.

“We knew that once we attacked, the help was going to come,” Scales said. “They usually do a good job of rotating. We wanted to attack and find the open man from time to time.”

Derby upped the tempo in the third quarter with a 1-2-2 press and was able to force three turnovers.

“That kind of got us some momentum,” Karsak said. “… It spend them up and let us make a run there.”

Derby freshman point guard Tor’e Alford scored two quick baskets midway through the period. She scored 10 points, all in the second half.

But South settled back into its trademark patient offense, stifling Derby’s attempt to speed up the game.

“I’m proud of our young ladies,” Scales said. “We weathered the storm and survived that test. Everyone wanted to see that matchup. We don’t go on record saying that, but eagerly behind the scenes, we wanted to see that matchup as well.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Wichita South girls beat Derby in battle of unbeatens (+video)."