ACE girls extend region streak, defeat Southwest 48-43

The ACE girls basketball team notched a key win Tuesday night, playing through early foul trouble to defeat Southwest 48-43 on the road for a region victory.

The Gryphons improved to 13-2 overall and 5-1 in Region 2-Class A/Division I this season with the win, defeating a crosstown rival and bouncing back from a loss against Central Fellowship last week. The Patriots dropped to 4-7 overall and 0-5 in region play.

“Any time you go on the road, you’re in a different environment with a team that’s comfortable. We’ve got three region road wins in a row, so we’re very grateful for that,” ACE head coach Todd Whetsel said. “We gotta go on the road again Friday night in a very tough environment on the road against Central. It feels really good to get a win tonight against a really good team.”

ACE got out to a strong start, netting a 16-6 lead in the first quarter behind solid play from the twins Khloie and Zhoie Stanley. Southwest climbed back into it before long, though, eventually cutting the lead to 23-20 with about three minutes left until halftime.

The bounceback indicated a trend that would persist as the night wore on — ACE would extend its lead to around 10, but the Patriots would claw back into it and make it a 4- or 5-point game at times.

Zhoie Stanley getting in foul trouble early was part of the reason for Southwest lingering despite the early deficit.

“We had a great start in the first quarter, had good energy. But the rest of the night we really battled foul trouble,” Whetsel said. “They crashed the boards really well and shot a lot more free throws than we did. We did enough to win and we’re grateful for that, but that’s kind of how it went.”

The second half was a similar story with the Patriots hanging around, as it was a 40-36 game with about four minutes to play when ACE made a crucial run that flipped things around.

First the Gryphons had a patient possession, waiting for a good pass under the cup and converting with a layup. Less than a minute later, Khloie Stanley swiped the ball from Southwest and hit a layup — only for her twin sister to steal the ball on the ensuing inbounds play to score yet again.

In the blink of an eye, it went from a 4-point lead to a 10-point deficit.

“Any time you can turn defense into offense like that, that’s a big lift,” Whetsel said. “It was a huge factor in helping us win the basketball game.”

Southwest head coach Ron Hill called the two quick turnovers “backbreakers” for his squad, which was looking to upset one of the top teams in Region 2.

“That was huge. I looked up and those two steals put us down 10. We fought and put it back to four or five, but those two steals were turnovers at the wrong time,” Hill said. “We didn’t fully fight back from that.”

Even with one of them in foul trouble for much of the evening, the twins had an impact for ACE. Khloie finished with 17 points and Zhoie followed with 12. 

“Khloie played really well, she stayed out of foul trouble and stayed steady when Zhoie got in foul trouble. As soon as that happened Coach Hill called a timeout and went to a press,” Whetsel said. “We held up okay after that. A lot of that credit goes to the kids that came in (when Zhloie had to sit), but Khloie was steady.”

While the Patriots did outplay the Gryphons when it came to offensive rebounds, Whetsel also shouted out his team’s performance in the post when it counted.

“Layla Johnson just started earning a spot. She had 12 rebounds last Friday at Dodge, then had 11 on Saturday. I told her in practice she was starting,” Whetsel said. “I haven’t watched the film yet, but on the stat sheet we had her for 8 points and 9 rebounds. So she almost had a double-double.”

The Patriots, who did a good job drawing fouls and getting decent looks but couldn’t finish plays, were led by Simya Robertson with 13 points.

“I preach rebounding. I say please rebound, please play defense and please box out — I use the word please in my speech before the game to let ‘em know those things really matter,” Hill said. “We played fairly well, but we could’ve been more pumped up. They were more conditioned than us in the fourth quarter.”

Hill named a more under-the-radar player as his MVP for the evening.

“My player of the game would be Maria Tharpe,” Hill said. “She gave up a few easy buckets under the basket, but she rebounded really well and hustled up and down the floor. You can tell that she was working, and you could tell she was agitated by her play. I love seeing that on her face, because you know she cares.”

ACE continues region play against Central on the road Friday, while Southwest is set to travel to Bleckley County.