“Five To Watch from South Mecklenburg’s Dominant Win Over Olympic” – 1/28/20
In a spirited battle of the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the So Meck-7 Conference, the South Mecklenburg Sabres (14-3) outlasted the Trojans of Olympic (12-5) on Tuesday evening at South Mecklenburg High, 52-41. South started out on fire…
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Continue ReadingIn a spirited battle of the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the So Meck-7 Conference, the South Mecklenburg Sabres (14-3) outlasted the Trojans of Olympic (12-5) on Tuesday evening at South Mecklenburg High, 52-41. South started out on fire and scored the first 14 points of the game, but Olympic showed it’s basketball character by battling back to cut the lead to 6, 47-41 with 1:50 left. South ultimately settled down and closed this hotly contested game on a 5-0 run to secure the victory. This was my initial look at Olympic and my third opportunity to see South. These are a few observations worth noting:
- South Mecklenburg’s Jaclyn Felt got a triple double the hard way. Felt, the 6’3″ Senior post for Coach Cristie Mitchell’s Sabres, completely dominated the paint from start to finish. She finished with 14 points on 7 of 11 shooting, 13 rebounds, and 11 blocks. That was not a misprint. She had 11 blocks, at least 4 of which came in the opening minutes as South jumped out to a double digit lead. Felt is one of my favorite players to watch. She is unselfish, knows her role and always competes fiercely. I really hope that this young lady gets to continue to grow as a player at the next level. If she can add a little more strength to her willowy frame, she will be significantly more effective than she already is and that’s saying something.
- Jada Brigman is a talented Sophomore with a knack for scoring the basketball. Brigman, a 5’7″ shooting guard is almost like a throwback player in that she is deadly in the mid-range and doesn’t rely on the three pointer like so many modern day players. In this game, she scored 17 points despite being 0 for 3 from distance. Blessed with a strong body and a certain tenacity about her game, Brigman gets to where she wants to on the floor and is able to convert or draw contact and capitalize at the line (7 for 8 against South). If this young lady can improve her handle and become more consistent from the three point line, she will be one of the area’s most intriguing prospects in the class of 2022.
- Olympic Freshman Aniyah Scales changed the game when she entered. Scales is a 5’9″, long and lanky player that I have seen play over the years on the AAU circuit. On Tuesday, she didn’t start, was the 2nd person off the bench, and played little if any in the disastrous first quarter for Olympic (down 16-5 after spotting South the first 14 of the game). Yet, upon entering, she changed the tempo of the game and had a devastating effect on the defensive end. Despite shooting 1 of 9 and scoring only three points, I can honestly say she had as positive an impact on the game for her team as any Trojan did during the game. She was credited with two steals, but it seemed like more. She definitely had another 3 to 4 deflections. Her hustle was contagious for a team that opened the game sleepwalking. She is an incredibly athletic player who can hopefully find her niche on the defensive end while her offensive game matures a bit.
- Senali Moss continues to lead her team despite the loss of her backcourt mate. South is quite a different looking team than the one that I saw earlier this season. Shakyra Harley, the 5’7″ Senior combo Guard for South has been plagued by injuries this season and was again sidelined against Olympic. When on the court, Harley and Moss form one of the best backcourts in the state. With Harley out, Moss, a 5’7″ Sophomore lead guard, put her stamp on the game and was the perimeter compliment to Felt’s inside dominance. Moss finished with 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting and continually made big plays to stop Olympic rallies. She is definitely one of the gems of the 2022 class.
- Jessica Freeman is a great coach and should be applauded with the job she has done turning around Olympic’s program, but I can’t help to think that every time I watch a South Mecklenburg game, the Sabres have a coaching advantage. Cristie Mitchell is an amazing coach. Mitchell’s teams are fundamentally sound and play hard. That should be a given. Sadly though, in many instances, it’s not. Yet, when you see the Sabres run offense and you see the spacing and the discipline the players exhibit, it almost looks like a college team from an execution standpoint. While South Mecklenburg has some talented players, let’s just say Mitchell isn’t just rolling out the ball. She is squeezing every bit of performance out of her squad. I don’t know how deep this team will get in the playoffs, but when and if they lose, it won’t be because they were unprepared or outcoached.