The Wilson Bruins were four minutes away from pulling off their first upset of the season on opening night, but an aggressive, athletic Rams team outran them in the end, pulling off a comeback victory by a score of 51-46. For the first half, it was Wilson’s size that ruled, as Millikan doesn’t start any players over six feet tall, while Wilson starts two, Cheyanne Butler and Delisha Brand. Tiffany Bailey, a six-foot junior forward who came off the bench, was also key, with 12 of her 18 points in the first (including two three’s). But in the fourth quarter, Millikan used their speed to their advantage, racking up the transition points and getting good penetration—they outscored Wilson 14-4 in the final period, to secure the victory. “We played great basketball for 28 minutes,” said Bruins coach Byron Ferguson. “But basketball is a 32-minute game. We just couldn’t execute in the fourth quarter.”
For the first three quarters, it was Millikan who couldn’t execute their gameplan, failing to run the floor, and playing loose perimeter defense, allowing the Bruins to drop five three-point shots. Trailing 29-24 at the half, Rams coach Lorene Morgan put Hillary Drinovsky, a recent transfer from Las Vegas, into the game, and let her stay there. “That was the most minutes she’s had in a game for us so far this season.” It took the 6’4″ junior a quarter to warm up, and she only dropped in one bucket, but she pulled down ten rebounds in the second half, and provided some much-needed defensive reach for the Rams.
The balance tipped with 3:14 to play in the fourth, when Millikan went up 45-44, their first lead of the game. They never trailed again—leaders for the Rams were Tiffany Bailey, with 12 points, Ashley Mitchell, with 8 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals, and Seqouia Hernandez, a freshman who scored 11, including five crucial fourth period points. The Bruins’ top performers were Bailey off the bench with 18, Jazmyne Porter with 9 points, and Ciarra Ford, who had 8 points but was effective at getting to the line, drawing four fouls in the first half before Millikan adjusted to her speed.
“What you saw in the fourth quarter, that was our style,” said Morgan. “Pushing the ball.” It took them almost all game to find that style, but once they did, it didn’t take long flip the outcome. Coach Ferguson knew victory was in his team’s grasp, though. “We beat ourselves,” he said. Both teams have big games coming up, as Wilson travels to Poly on Friday to try and slay Goliath, and then host Cabrillo on Monday. They start the season 0-1 in league, and drop to 4-10 overall. Millikan visits Lakewood on Friday, and then will play host to Poly on Monday for their next league game. The Rams are 1-0 in league, and 11-2 overall.
