Early lead helps Stratford Eaglettes defeat FPD 44-37 in region rivalry game

For the final 28 minutes, FPD beat Stratford.

But the first four minutes were the difference, the Eaglettes marching out to a 13-2 lead only to spend the rest of the game fending off the Vikings en route to a 44-37 win Thursday night at FPD.

Stratford improved to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in GIAA 4A/3A District 6 play, while FPD fell to 9-6 and 1-1. The Eaglettes visit reigning Class AA state champ Piedmont — now in this district — on Tuesday, while the Vikings host John Milledge the same night.

Stratford’s boys made it a sweep with an 81-31 win.

Da’Laila Lowe led Stratford with 16 points, while forward Kaliya Walker and guard Camiyah Hanson each added 10.

Sophomore Bowen Matthews had 16 for the Vikings.

“We got off to a good start,” Stratford girls head coach Ed Smith said. “But we didn’t match their intensity after that. They’re not going away. They’re so athletic, and Bowen’s such a great athlete. When you don’t match their intensity, they’re going to give you a lot of problems.”

The Eaglettes were red-hot early. The Vikings more resembled the weather.

It went from 2-2 to 13-2, Stratford getting buckets from four different players, two scores coming inside from post Walker.

That led to an FPD meeting.

“We were not settling down and running our offense,” FPD head coach Doug Wasden said. We were just coming down. I’ve got some that are very fast, very quick, and we were too fast, we needed to calm down. Our key word for the night before the game was ‘control’. Stay under control, and we got out of control at the beginning.”

Ever so slowly, that chat began paying off for FPD, more so on the defensive end as Stratford cooled off.

Granted, FPD managed only two buckets — and missed a pair of free throws — in the final four minutes of the first quarter, but that was two more baskets than Stratford got.

The Vikings remained a little hotter and finally tied it on Matthews’ layup off a loose ball with 5:47 left in the half. Stratford answered.

“Once they got it close, we were able to get a shot, we were able to execute OK,” Smith said. “Maybe not get an easy basket, but good look.”

Suddenly, Stratford reawakened with better accuracy, and scored on three straight possessions — five points coming from Da’Laila Lowe — to open up a 20-13 lead at the 4:19 mark of the second quarter.

And just as suddenly, the Eaglettes went back into drought mode and got only another paint bucket from Walker the rest of the way, the Vikings going scoreless the final three-plus minutes to trail 22-17 at halftime.

“The last few games when we hit droughts, we were not shooting the ball very well,” Smith said. “Today, we weren’t really executing, we were turning the ball over. Their athleticism forced us out of any rhythm.”

Matthews had 10 of FPD’s points, while Stratford was balanced.

Stratford slowly found what it had been looking for in the third quarter: some control.

A five-point lead grew to nine twice in the final three minutes of the period, Stratford taking a 33-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

The control quickly evaporated, though, starting with a 3 from Emily Grace Wasden barely 40 seconds into the quarter, Elcee Leslein’s steal and layup pulling the Vikings within 33-30 with 6:27 left.

Stratford got another cushion, and FPD deflated it, Matthews’ 3-pointer on a second-chance possession bringing the Vikings within 38-37 with 2:05 left in the game. Reagan Ray took a pass from Shannon Smith for a layup and a 40-37 lead almost a minute later.

“I thought one of the biggest (plays) was on press break when Ray-Ray got the shot late off the press break,” Smith said. “We had not been attacking the press very well. I thought that hurt them because they had momentum.”

And after that early run, it was a game of alternating momentum.

“I told them we spotted them 11 points,” Wasden said. “It’s just hard to get back into it. We fought back, we’d catch up. We just couldn’t get over it.”