Lafayette girls basketball coach P.J. Piggott has been more than pleased with his young team’s play of late, but could find no better way of labeling Tuesday night’s performance in a 38-28 home loss to Smithfield than “just one of those nights.”
A less-than-stellar shooting night that resulted in just 10 made field goals overshadowed what was a noteworthy defensive effort by the Rams, who as a team combined to shoot under 30 percent from the floor.
Forward Indyah Brown, who led Lafayette with 12 points, was often a spark offensively in the post for the Rams, but the sophomore also drew the toughest defensive assignment of the night marking Packers’ junior standout Jackie Jordan.
Jordan was a menace on both ends of the glass pulling down 23 rebounds, many of which came on the offensive end and led to a bulk of her game-high 14 points.
“We had a good game plan defensively coming in and I think that’s what helped keep it close early,” Piggott said after the game. “But offensively, we had the looks, and I thought we took good shots, I guess the ball just doesn’t fall sometimes, like they say.”
Lafayette opened the game in a 2-3 zone on defense that made life difficult for Smithfield’s guards trying to slip entry passes into Jordan.
Jordan, however, and Tiffany Lennon (9 points) would do most of the early damage creating second-chance points with offensive rebounds as the Packers built an early 10-4 lead.
After opening the game 0-8 from the field, Alicia Lee and Brown would connect on back-to-back baseline jumpers for Lafayette – a rare sighting on this night – as the Rams pulled back within three, 11-8, to end the first period.
Second-chance points would prove costly again for Lafayette in the second quarter as Madee Ramirez opened the period with a stick-back following an offensive rebound before burying a 3-pointer on the Packers next possession as Smithfield quickly jumped out to a 16-8 lead.
The Rams didn’t falter though as freshman point guard Kenya Holiday drained a 3-point bucket from the wing before Brown sank 1-2 from the charity stripe to pull Lafayette back within four, 16-12.
Brown and Jordan would exchange tough buckets down low before Smithfield ended the half with a 6-0 run to take a 24-16 lead into the break.
After a sluggish end to the first half, Lafayette came out with all the energy to start the third quarter.
On the first possession of the second half, Rams’ senior Desiree Jones came up with a steal and converted the easy layup. Moments later Libby Bland hauled in an offensive board and went back up for two, bringing Lafayette back within four, 24-20.
With roughly three minutes left in the quarter, a strong take by Brown brought Lafayette within three, 26-23, for the first time since the opening period.
But the difference of the game was the final minutes of the third period when the Rams turned the ball over on four-consecutive possessions to close out the quarter as Smithfield’s lead grew to 10, 33-23.
Neither side could get anything going offensively in the fourth as the two teams scored five points apiece during the final eight minutes.
Lafayette (8-6, 8-4 BRD) entered the game on a roll having won six out of its last eight contests, but dropped a game back of Smithfield (8-5, 8-3 BRD) for third place in the Bay Rivers District with the loss.
Piggott says he expects growing pains for a team with one senior, plus a freshman and sophomore in key starting roles.
“We’ve been playing very good basketball the last few games; tonight was just one of those nights,” Piggott said. “Give Smithfield the credit, though, they’re an experienced team with some good players and they deserved to win.
“But the goal is to keep improving, especially a team as young as ours, and I think we’re one of the teams in the district that continues to do that.”
Smithfield 38 Lafayette 28
Smithfield- 11 13 9 5 – 38
Lafayette- 8 8 7 5 – 28
Smithfield (8-3 BRD)- Jac. Jordan 14, Lennon 9, Ramirez 7, Whitley 4, Jam. Jordan 4, Ramsey 2. Totals 13 9-12; 38.
Lafayette (7-4 BRD)-Brown 12, Jones 7, Lee 4, Holiday 3, Bland 2. Totals 10 7-10; 28.
