Defending champ Concord defeats Parkland

Coach Angela Morton of Concord said that she thinks her team now has the "survive" part of "survive and advance" figured out, after outlasting determined Parkland 54-46 last night in a 3-A West Sectional 1 semifinal.

Concord, the defending 3-A state champ, appeared to have Parkland on the ropes late in the third quarter after taking a 48-29 lead, its largest of the night.

But Parkland stormed back during a 15-2 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to cut the lead to 51-46 with 6:04 seconds left.

The Mustangs appeared to cut the lead to three on their next possession, but Sydney Surratt was called for a charge after making a layup and the basket was wiped out.

From there, Parkland failed to score the rest of the way despite holding Concord in check offensively.

On its next six possessions following the charge, the Mustangs had a missed 3-point attempt, two turnovers, a missed layup and two missed jump shots.

Concord scored just five points in the fourth quarter, made just 1 of 6 free throws, and didn't extend its lead until a layup by Jatzmin Johnson with 2:08 left gave the Spiders a 53-46 lead.

"We have a tournament-experienced team and we were just trying to stay calm and not panic during that run," Morton said. "I'm a pretty emotional coach, and I didn't want them (her team) to see any panic from me because that might have gotten them scared, or more scared than they were. I just wanted them to play through it and I felt like they would be alright. You have to give Parkland tremendous credit for coming back like that. They did not want to go away, and it was a testament to how much heart they have."

Concord got an early spark from junior guard Nyshia Hammonds, who led the Spiders with 16 points.

Twelve of those came in the first half, and eight came during a pivotal 17-6 run to end the first quarter that gave Concord a 21-11 lead.

"She does anything she can to help us win," Morton said of Hammonds. "She's just a tremendous playmaker with or without the ball. She did a great job attacking the middle and it might have caught them off guard when she stopped and pulled up for those jumpers instead of taking it to the rim. Because they are such good shot blockers, I think they might have been waiting for her at the rim, but she stuck those shots, which has become a staple of hers."

Employing a variety of swarming defenses, Concord forced Parkland into eight turnovers in the first quarter while trying to deliver an early knockout punch.

The Spiders extended their lead to 35-20 by halftime and continued their steady play until late in the third quarter when the Mustangs began to start their run, scoring the last five points of the third and first four points of the fourth to get right back in the game.

After a jump shot by Johnson with 7:15 left gave Concord a 51-40 lead, Parkland reeled off six straight points and had momentum until Surratt picked up the charge.

"We were on the run right there and that could have cut it to three (points)," Coach Jon Weavil of Parkland said of the charge on Surratt. "We just started playing better defense, getting stops, and then converting our opportunities. But those last few possessions for us, Concord tightened up its defense and made it hard for us to get the ball into the paint. When we tried to get off a pass to our bigs (post players), they were right there with a double team. We missed a couple of chippies that could have cut into the lead too. But I guess with a defending state championship team, you've got to take advantage of those opportunities when they give them to you."

Jazmin Cromartie scored 20 points, J'Mia Pollock added 12, and Surratt finished with seven for Parkland, which finished its season 20-4.

"I can't say enough about them," Weavil said. "Those three, along with with Shayanna Hicks have just been the backbone of this program. It's the first team to win a conference championship during the regular season and tournament in 43 years. They posted the best school record in school history. I really think some of those jerseys should be retired."

Concord, which improved to 25-4, will play at Ragsdale in tonight's sectional final.

Concord 21 14 14 5 -- 54
Parkland 11 9 16 10 -- 46

Concord (25-4): Hammonds 16, Mariah Black 11, Johnson 9, Briggs 6, Edwards 7, DeBerry 2, Currie 3

Parkland (20-3): Cromartie 20, Pollock 12, Surratt 7, Davis 4, Penn 2, Morgan 1