HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: No. 2 Lady Pirates set to host first round of state playoffs

Feb. 19—It wasn't the finish that Brunswick High's girls basketball team wanted Wednesday night, but the Lady Pirates will still get to host the first round of the 6A state tournament.

On Wednesday night, the Lady Pirates fell 64-51 to Statesboro in the region title game. Their second-place finish in region gives them a home-court advantage in the upcoming state tournament.

It was a tough loss and just Brunswick's fifth on the season. Despite the loss, coach Maria Mangram felt her team put together a solid performance.

"I felt as a unit we were well prepared. We stuck to our game plan of trying to deny and keep 10 and five from really beating us because, both times we played them before, they were the ones who kind of scored," Mangram said. "So our defensive strategy worked.

"As far as, like a level playing field, it wasn't really the same. So that in itself was already a distraction and hard to play through. We got down at one point by 10, maybe even 12, and then we came back, and after we clawed our way back, that's when the calls just kind of went left."

Statesboro had 35 opportunities at the foul line, while Brunswick had just 10. Mangram said she was 100% happy with how her girls performed and how they gave her everything they had. However, she said it wasn't a level playing field.

"It's just unfortunate that we didn't get to play on a level playing field because it wasn't level at all, we only got the opportunity to shoot 10 free throws, and they shot 35," Mangram said. "So 22 of their points came from the free-throw line, and it's hard to overcome that — especially late in the game. We were battling in the fourth quarter, and it seemed like every time we would get some light, there was a foul call. We wanted to win, and I still think that we had a good opportunity to win. We just came up short."

Mangram said they knew it would be a dogfight, and her team knew they had to stick together.

"We knew we were going to have to grind it out," Mangram said. "It was all Lady Pirates as a unit, of course, but we knew it was going to be the world against us. That's just kind of how they felt."

Brunswick had two girls score in double digits as Trinity Harrison led with 14 points, and Shakardia Cowart was close behind her with 12. Makaila Brown added nine points and Shané Jackson had eight. Jackson was a force down low, and Mangram said she had 10 big rebounds on the game.

Mangram also said it came down to rebounding as well, and she felt like there were times they didn't get the board when they needed to.

She gave Statesboro credit for a good game but said she felt like it could have been different if it was on a neutral court. The refs told her that they were playing too aggressively when she asked about the foul calls.

"As their coach and leader, I hated it to see us go down that way because it was just unfortunate that a referee will try to take over a game like that," Mangram said. "Everybody that we've talked to, coaches, everybody has been calling me all day saying like 'coach, Wow, like I've never seen anything like that.' Hats off to Statesboro, they are a good team, and they are undefeated for a reason. I would like to play them on a neutral floor to see what the outcome would be."

Now the Lady Pirates prepare for their first-round opponent, Evans High — the No. 3 seed from Region 3.

"Their leading scorer, I think she averages about 15," Mangram said. "So we're going to have to key in on her to make sure we keep all eyes on her at all times — to make somebody else beat you besides the leading scorer. So we're going to work on some different defensive schemes and tactics to try to frustrate her a little bit to see if someone else will step up for them."

One of the things Brunswick has done well all season is sharing the scoring. There isn't one dominant scorer for the Lady Pirates. Instead, any of their starting five could fill that role.

Mangram said it'd been a blessing not depending on one girl to get the job done, and it's been helpful this season, having so many finding ways to put up points. There have been games where at least five different girls have led the team in scoring, so Evans will have to prep for everyone.

"We've had a lot of different girls who led us in scoring," Mangram said. "These girls, they share the ball very well. They don't care about who is scoring. Sometimes they share it too much, to the point where they try to make an extra pass they don't have to make. That's just how it's been all year."

Her post players, Jackson and Brown, have been huge for their success. While all the girls have, those two down low have helped along the way.

"Shané has definitely been a blessing for us. She's helped us big time along the way," Mangram said. "And then you have Makaila, and it's always going to hopefully be something positive. Anytime she's on the floor, people know her there, and they're aware of her. The plus that I like about this team is that she doesn't always have to lead us in scoring.

"It can come from someone else — just having her body out there sometimes, even if she's not a scoring major or anything like that. Having her out there a lot of times makes a difference. She blocks a lot of shots for us, too. So this year, she's kind of gone into the blocking shot mode instead of just always scoring."

With the No. 2 seed, Brunswick gets that home-court advantage. Mangram said having that home crowd helps out a lot.

"I feel good about going into the first round, and we'll be here," Mangram said. "Hopefully, our home crowd will bring some people out to come to watch us play, and we'll have a big crowd here for it. We're thankful to be able to play our first round at home."

The first round will be at Brunswick High on Tuesday, with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. as the Lady Pirates look to make a deep playoff run.