STATE EXTRA: R.E. Lee’s story of missed opportunity

RICHMOND
A team needs to take care of the ball, run an offense well and play good defense to win a state title. Freedom did these things, but for Lee, it was a tale of missed opportunities.

Lee looked good off the tip, with Angela Mickens scoring a layup, giving Lee its only lead of the game.

But Lee’s black uniforms seemed fitting, as the sun was about to go down on the Lee Ladies’ dream of a state championship.

Lee’s powerhouse inside, Daquaa Scott missed all four shots in the first quarter, a trend that was scarily uncommon for the entire Lee Lady team aside from Mickens.

The Lee Ladies dug a deep hole, shooting 14 percent for the first quarter. Due to the stifling defense of Freedom and the urgency to score points, the shooting got worse.

“We certainly picked the worst night to have our worst shooting night of the year,” Lee coach Jeremy Hartman stated. “It is what it is and it has been a great season.”

Even though the game started at eleven, Hartman was right about night. The sun had set on his team in the first half.

The shooting was not the only thing that went wrong for Lee in a game that seemed to star Murphy’s Law over either team.

The Lee Ladies committed 19 turnovers, which Freedom turned into 11 points.

The team shot 19 percent for the game, a statistic that got boosted as Freedom loosened the defense slightly towards the end of the game.

“I am looking at the stats. We shot 13-for-67 from the floor,” Hartman admitted. “You just can’t beat good team shooting that poorly, and a lot of them were easy layups. When you dig yourself a hole, it’s hard to get out of it when you shoot that bad.”

Scott, one of Lee’s most consistent post players, was not immune, shooting a dismal 2-of-19 from the floor.

In the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, Scott had a chance for a layup to make the game serviceable, but missed the chance with an Eagle defender on her hip.

“Somebody has to take shots,” Scott stated. “You have to be strong with the ball, kick it out and see if you can get it back in. If shots aren’t falling you have to keep shooting. You can’t lose confidence in what you are doing.”

When the game looked darkest for the Lee Ladies, Mickens, one of the best free throw shooters on the team air balled a technical free throw.

Lee went down in a damp, dark Richmond afternoon looking like a completely changed ball team.