East Davidson girls capture 2-A state crown

By Mike Duprez
Lexington Dispatch

RALEIGH - Three years ago, Terry Allmon watched from behind the baseline as a talented Brown Middle School team featuring the likes of eighth-graders Anna Freeman and Alyssa Cutshaw scored a decisive win over Ledford Middle School.

Allmon was the incoming coach at East Davidson and knew he was walking into a good situation.

It all came together Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum as the Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter and beat Graham 62-59 to win the 2-A state championship.

“Yes, I knew they were special,” Allmon said. “But to be special you’ve got to work hard. These kids gave their heart and soul. I knew going in they were going to be special. They’re too good of a group.”

It was on the Eagles’ minds, too.

“We’ve talked about it since then,” said Freeman, who was named the MVP of the title game after scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. “We told him when he came here that we were going to win him a state championship. I don’t know if anybody believed us at the time. We’ve been playing together since the sixth grade in AAU. It feels amazing.”

Cutshaw’s 3-pointer from the wing broke a 54-54 tie with 1:03 left, giving East the lead for good though there were some anxious moments in the closing seconds.

“When it left my hand, it felt good,” Cutshaw said. “When it went in, I was so excited.”

East was up 58-56 when Graham’s Courdne Miles, who had burned the Eagles for several backdoor lay-ups, drove the lane and was fouled by Freeman. It was Freeman’s fifth foul, but Miles missed both free throws.

The Eagles got some breathing room when Candace Fox was fouled and hit two free throws for a 60-56 lead with 18 seconds left.

But the Red Devils’ Alison Cousin banked in a deep 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, keeping the issue very much in doubt.

Cutshaw was fouled almost immediately and made one of two free throws. But the Red Devils, who were out of timeouts, didn’t get a decent shot as Beth Miller threw up an airball on a 3-pointer with five seconds left.

Graham was forced to foul again, and Cutshaw made one of the two attempts. The Red Devils, with just 2.8 seconds remaining and the length of the court to go, could not get off a final shot attempt, setting off a boisterous celebration among the East fans.

“This is a dream come true,” Allmon said. “I’ll tell you what, Graham has got a great basketball team. Our girls stepped up when they had to.”

Stacy Hicks scored 10 points for the Eagles, who finished with a 27-4 record. Elizabeth Merritt added nine points and six rebounds, and Cutshaw had eight points.

KiKi Allen led Graham (31-2) with 14 points while Miles had 12, Cousin 11 and Keirra Smith 10.

East played some zone defense early and labored to overcome Graham’s full-court pressure.

Graham used an 8-0 run in the first quarter to take a 14-10 lead, but Haley Grimsley’s 3-pointer with five seconds left cut the margin to one.

The Red Devils moved ahead 19-17 on a jumper by Miller, and it was a good while before the Eagles were in front again though the game stayed close. Graham was up 30-27 at halftime.

Merritt fired in a 15-foot jumper give East a 31-30 lead with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

This time it was the Eagles’ turn to surge.

A lay-up by Hicks stretched the lead to 44-36 with 1:59 left in the period, and East had a chance to push the margin even wider when Miller was called for an offensive foul on Graham’s next trip down the court.

But Cutshaw missed a 3-pointer, and Allen responded with consecutive shots from behind the arc to get the Red Devils back in the game.

The Red Devils kept their momentum going at the start of the fourth quarter, and by the time Miles hit a lay-up to make it 52-46 with 5:20 left in the game, Graham had outscored the Eagles 16-2.

But Hicks buried a 3-pointer to stop the run.

Graham then attempted a delay game with just a three-point, and a pair of quick fouls by Hicks triggered the 1-and-1. Cousin missed a free throw, and then Freeman drove in for a lay-up on the other end.

The Eagles finally forged ahead 54-52 with 2:46 left on a lay-up by Dee Lanier, her only basket of the game.

Cousin’s lay-up with 1:37 left evened the game at 54-54 and set in motion the dramatic ending.

With both teams returning most of their players, talk quickly turned to next season.

“I feel like we can get back here again,” said Graham coach Kyle Ward. “We could see East Davidson again or maybe Salisbury.”

Megan Byerly and Lanier are the only two seniors for East, so the Eagles should be primed to defend their title in 2008-09.

“We’ve got a good group coming back,” Allmon said. “First, I’m going to enjoy this one for a couple of days.”

Notes: East shot 52.8 percent for the game and 57.9 percent in the second half. … Cutshaw and Merritt each had four assists. … Freeman blocked four shots. … Allen was 4-for-8 from 3-point range.

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