The Pirates missed a majority of their free throws and layups for nearly 41 minutes of game time Friday in the City Championship game.
But Brunswick High did just enough in the final minute of the contest to deny crosstown rival Glynn Academy’s upset bid with a 50-45 victory at The Glass Palace.
After battling through an ugly game that saw the Pirates shoot 6-of-17 from the free throw line and turn the ball over with impunity, they were just grateful to escape with their perfect record intact.
“I’m taking a sigh of relief — we just played so bad the first half of the game,” said Brunswick girls head coach Maria Mangram. “We were trying to play too fast. We were like the little toy that you wind up; we were so wound up and I guess nobody ever put us down.
“But they showed a lot of poise. They stuck together. They didn’t get uptight, or get frustrated or get mad. Just as a coach, I was frustrated at them because they were making so many mental mistakes.”
A nip-and-tuck game that saw neither team build a lead larger than the six-point advantage the Terrors (9-10, 4-4 Region 2-6A) took on Kayla Page’s basket to open the fourth quarter was decided on a late push that saw the Pirates (17-0, 7-0) score 18 of the final 25 points.
Brunswick bigs Shamya Flanders and Shané Jackson lived up to their stature in the win, especially down the stretch. Flanders finished with a game-high 18 points, seven rebounds and two steals while Jackson added 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
The Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame co-MVPs combined for 16 of the Pirates’ 20 points in the fourth quarter, including their final 14.
“We had been harping on the guards, ‘The guards are playing so well, the guards are playing so well,’ and tonight our bigs came through for us,” Mangram said. “Shané really did a good job running rim to rim, she was blocking shots. She was all over the place. They both fed off each other.”
The Pirates had moments they looked their normal selves — the top ranked team in Class 6A according to MaxPreps, but they found themselves in the unfamiliar position of playing catchup most of the night.
The Terrors delivered a strong opening punch courtesy a pair of Reggenae Habersham 3-pointers and a couple of free throws from Dudley as they raced out to an early 8-3 lead.
Brunswick rattled off six straight of its own to take its first lead of the game at 9-8 until Habersham knocked down her third 3 of the quarter and Paris Smith drained a couple more free throws.
Much of the game played out the same way — Glynn scratching out an advantage before Brunswick rushed back with a flurry.
Once the first period came to an end with the rivals locked in a 15-15 tie, the game divulged into a rock fight through a majority of the next two quarters with the teams combined for just 12 points in the second quarter.
While Brunswick threw the ball away and squandered some prime scoring opportunities, resulting in a four-point second period, Glynn managed to carry a 23-19 advantage into the locker room by creating good looks against what at times has been an overwhelming Pirates press.
“I think we handled their press very well,” said Terrors girls head coach Sharnesha Smith. “That’s something that we worked on because the stretch we had, we went from Statesboro, to a couple other teams, to Bradwell, to Brunswick so those three teams right there always bring pressure.
“I think we’re getting better with it. We’ve got some people stepping up, some people working with more confidence. We’ve got some guards stepping up, being able to handle the ball and see the floor. I think we had some good opportunities there. Just again, down the stretch, it took some grinding. You’ve got to lock in.”
Neither team was able to gain any ground in the third with the period being played to an 11-11 standstill, but Glynn’s four-point lead through three quarters represented a drastic change from the first meeting between the clubs that saw Brunswick up 18 entering the final eight minutes.
“I think it took some time for us to find our identity a little bit,” Smith said. “Obviously some things had happened, I was away the whole first half of the season, and then for me to come back Christmas Break and really get that relationship going with the girls, they started to learn my coaching philosophy, my coaching style, and I think that’s helped us down the stretch.
“We’ve had some people step up. They’re understanding what needs to happen, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Terrors extended their lead to 36-30 on the first basket of the fourth and proceeded to hold firm over the next five minutes, but the Pirates wouldn’t be denied.
Trailing by three with 2:20 on the clock, Jackson got a bucket to fall inside while being fouled. Although she missed the game-tying free throw, Flanders cleaned up the miss and made the put back to give Brunswick an improbable lead.
Following another basket by Flanders, Glynn let out one last gasp — a Dudley 3 that tied the game at 45-45 with a minute to play.
But Flanders hit a free throw a possession later before she and Jackson salted the game away with a couple more baskets to the cheers from the raucous crowd of Pirates supporters.
“We made so many unforced turnovers where we would normally go to the basket and get a layup and get fouled, tonight for some reason, they were pulling up,” Mangram said. “We’ve been working on that, but we just have to do a better job of reading a defense. But tonight, our turnovers killed us. We made so many. But again, I’m just so happy for them that they continue to say they’re undefeated, and we’re still No. 1 in the region.”