Brunswick girls rally to stave off Glynn Academy in City Championship
Jan. 22—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 last 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 full game story will run in the Monday edition of The News.
