On Friday night the Independence Patriots traveled to Garinger High School for a Southwestern 4A Conference doubleheader. It was a clean sweep for the Patriots. The junior varsity teams got things started by taking down the Wildcats’ junior varsity teams. Indy girls routed the Wildcats 57-4, and the boys came away with a 53-30 win to stay undefeated.
Women’s Game
Independence 52, Garinger 21
In the women’s game, the Lady Patriots got off to a fast start working the ball down the lane. Sharonda Smith’s 3-pointer gave the lady Patriots a 14-6 first quarter lead.
Indy started the second period with Laura Flynn draining two free throws followed by a Braylyn Milton 3-pointer to make the score 19-6 with 6:17 left in the period. The Lady Patriots scored 18 unanswered points and led 32-6 at halftime.
In the second half the Lady Patriots continued their offensive and defensive attacks. The offense added ten more points before allowing a Garinger basket, their first since the 1:44 mark in the first quarter, to make the score 42-8.
With 1:17 remaining Indy fouled a Garinger 3-point shooter, but the Lady Wildcats managed to connect on only one of their three free throws making the score 44-9. After another Patriot foul, Garinger hit double figures 44-10 making one-of-two from the line, and closed out the quarter with a field goal to make the score 44-12 heading into the final period.
The final period was Garinger’s best quarter. The Lady Wildcats scored nine points while holding the Lady Patriots to eight fourth quarter points.
The Lady Patriots went on to take the conference victory 52-21.
Braylyn Milton led the Lady Patriots with 19 points. Sharonda Smith poured in 12,. Ayana Anderson added 7, Grace Breckenridge 6, Laura Flynn 4, Julia Rohifing 4.
Independence 14 18 12 8 – 52
Garinger 6 0 6 9 – 21
Men’s Game
Independence 70, Garinger 29
A 15-0 first quarter run put the Patriots ahead, and they never looked back as Indy took a 41 point conference win over the Garinger Wildcats.
AJ McKee opened the game with a driving layup putting Indy up in the first thirty seconds. On Indy’s next possession senior Matt Smith escaped serious injury as he drove down the center of the lane. While Matt was in the air, he was fouled hard and crashed to the floor. The game officials immediately called a flagrant foul on the Garinger defender. Smith had to leave the game, and coach Davis called on another senior, Raja Milton, to shoot the free throws. Milton knocked down both shots giving Indy a 4-0 lead with 6:41 remaining.
The Patriots’ pressure defense kept the Wildcats scoreless until the 3:15 mark when Garinger scored on a free throw to make the score 15-1. Indy kept up the pressure and took a 23-5 first quarter lead.
In the second period, Indy kept its fast pace offense at full throttle and didn’t let up on their defensive pressure as the Patriots out scored Garinger 18-9 to take a 41-14 halftime lead.The second half was pretty much a repeat of the first, with Indy outscoring the Wildcats 29-15 to take a 70-29 conference victory.
With coach Davis resting his starters, eleven Patriots got into the scoring column. Raja Milton led the Patriots with 12 points. Amonti Burton added 10. Matt Smith and AJ McKee had 7 points each. Tachai Miller, Nygell Verdier, Tyler Harris, Omarion Bidrice and Khalid Grissett all had 6 points each. Jaylen Lewis scored 3 points and Camren Little finished the night with 2 points.
Indy’s next game will be January 18, 2019. The Patriots will host cross town rivals the Rocky River Ravens. The Ladies are scheduled to start at 6:00 pm and the men are scheduled for 7:30 pm.
Independence 23 18 17 12 – 70
Garinger 5 9 9 6 – 29
