Maize girls pull off emotional upset against Derby

Tears fell in the Maize girls locker room after Tuesday’s 42-35 upset win over visiting Derby. The tears weren’t the happy kind.

Maize’s lone senior, starting guard Halee Roland fell to the floor early in the first quarter, grabbing her knee after an awkward landing under the basket. She cried out in pain as both teams and fans looked on in silence. Roland, Maize’s leading scorer, was helped off the court.

“We’re pretty sure it’s a torn ACL,” Maize coach Jerrod Handy said after the game.

So Maize, leading 3-0 at the time, continued on without its top scorer against Derby, a one-loss team that was undefeated in AV-CTL Division I, including an eight-point win over Maize on Dec. 15.

“When (Roland) was down it was extremely emotional,” sophomore Lauren White said. “We just knew we had to play for her.”

Maize (11-5, 5-3 AV-CTL I) overcame the obstacles with an effort Handy called “the most determined I’ve ever seen them play.”

The Eagles led by two after the first quarter and extended the lead to 20-16 by halftime. White and fellow sophomore Autumn Hanna took turns limiting 6-foot-4 freshmen Kennedy Brown, Derby’s leading scorer, to just 8 points on 2-of-8 shooting. Twice, Brown had an inbounds pass stolen away and immediately committed a foul out of frustration.

White said her goal was to get in Brown’s head, and the strategy worked. White had help on the backside from junior Brecken Roe, which allowed White to front Brown and prevent her from touching the ball.

“Lauren does a great job on defense,” Handy said. “She’s one of the best post defenders we’ve ever had here.”

Derby (14-2, 7-1) suffered from a lack of an offensive threat, putting pressure on the perimeter game. Derby’s guards shot just 4 of 19 from beyond the three-point arc.

Though Brown was limited offensively, she still managed eight blocks and forced Maize to find its offense mainly from the outside and the free throw line.

The Panthers finally hit enough perimeter shots to string together a 9-2 run late in the fourth quarter. Haley Mills knocked down a three-pointer from the right corner to trail 36-35 with a minute to play.

But the foul trouble that hampered Derby in the second half put them away for good in the final minute. Three fouls on three consecutive Maize possessions over the last minute saw Derby starters Tor’e Alford, Mills and Kenzie Young foul out. Maize went 6 for 8 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the win.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 10:30 PM with the headline "Maize girls pull off emotional upset against Derby."