Tahalier Collier (4) finishes the fast break. (Photo/Joe Seibles)
WINNSBORO (Feb. 17, 2017) – Just when the Southside girls looked to rally at Fairfield Central Wednesday, Tameisha Woodard came up from the post and took the ball away.
Woodard led the Griffins with 19 points and 18 rebounds, and the diminutive power forward helped deliver a 54-28 second-round victory over the Tigers in the 3A playoffs.
“I depended on my teammates and I did what my coach asked me to do,” Woodard said. “Coach said every time you take the ball just take it to the basket. I just felt confident in my game. Coach told me to play confident, play smart and listen. I took in everything she said.”
Fairfield Central (10-12) will play host to Newberry Monday. The Bulldogs (22-4) defeated the Griffins 60-34 Dec. 16 and 69-29 Jan. 21. They dismantled Pendleton 80-38 in their second-round playoff game Wednesday night.
While Newberry’s wins were lopsided, the Griffins hope to take the energy they had against Southside (7-13) and stay fired up Monday.
“We’re going to be ready for the challenge,” Fairfield Central head coach Amelia Miller said. “I think our girls are focused and ready to go.”
Fairfield Central showed as much when it forced 20 turnovers on Southside and outrebounded the Tigers 37-19.
“They were ready mentally and physically tonight,” Miller said. “They came out very aggressive. I’m very proud of them. Tameisha, she has a heart of gold. I depend on her. She really wants it.”
Aniyah Rice, who scored 19 of her team’s 28 points, got the game started with a quick basket. While Rice’s guard work and transition points gave the Griffins fits throughout the game, Fairfield Central soon settled into a ball-protecting rhythm based on Woodard’s floor work.
The Griffins scored 11 straight points after Rice’s first basket, and finished the first quarter with a 15-10 lead.
Zakia McKinney opened the second quarter sinking one of two foul shots, but the Griffins went on a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to jump to a 29-11 lead. Southside scored seven points to cut the Griffins lead to 29-18 by the half.
Fairfield Central put the game away with a dominating performance in the third quarter. Led by Henderson, who scored nine points, and Woodard who put up 6, the Griffins outscored the Tigers 17-4 to take a 46-22 lead going into the fourth.
Knowing that her team has played several teams that outplayed the Griffins earlier in the season, Miller said Thursday’s performance by the Griffins showed that the team learned how to play.
“Playing those 4A and 5A teams early, I believe that made us better,” Miller said. “We’re cutting down on our turnovers now (15 against Southside), we’re doing good things. We’re starting to be confident playing basketball, and that’s all I can ask for them to do.”
Fairfield Central 54, Southside 28
Southside 10 8 4 6 — 28
Fairfield Central 15 14 17 8 — 54
Southside
Aniyah Rice 19, Dawson 4, Calhoun 3, Cobb 2.
Fairfield Central
Tameisha Woodard 19, Jameka Henderson 18, Collier 9, Gray 4, Sampson 4.
