By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
A stellar start for Sylvan Hills was enough to overcome a sloppy ending as the Lady Bears rolled over Lake Hamilton 56-45 in the consolation round of the Mills Invitational Tournament on Thursday.
Senior guard Ashley Johnson scored 18 of her game-high 24 points in the first half, which helped the Lady Bears (5-3) jump to an 18-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 35-12 advantage at halftime.
The Lady Wolves (0-4) slowly erased the wide margin in the second half by utilizing better ball control and taking advantage of a Sylvan Hills offense that did not appear as potent with Johnson on the bench for most of the final two periods.
“We played pretty well first half, I thought,” Lady Bears coach Bee Rodden said. “I don’t think Lake Hamilton played as well as they are capable of playing. We worked with the ninth-grade boys yesterday, working on our defense and handling the ball under pressure.”
Toyletha Lewis led the Lady Bears defense with a disruptive attack that denied the ball inside for Lake Hamilton through the first quarter and most of the second.
Lewis, who also led in rebounding with 11, had three steals that led to transition opportunities for Sylvan Hills in the first half, and she proved to be a general nuisance for Lake Hamilton.
“That’s what she needs to do,” Rodden said. “She’s playing where she’s playing. She had defensive touches, and that’s what we need from her.”
The Lady Wolves dug a hole early when they tried to force the ball inside to post player Melissa Chynn, which usually resulted in a steal or easy defensive rebound for Lewis.
Her first steal with 4:35 left in the first quarter resulted in a three-pointer by Johnson to start a run of seven consecutive points from the senior that put the Lady Bears up 11-2.
“We heard that number 50 was their go-to person,” Rodden said of Lake Hamilton’s post player.
“We tried to work on our shifting. We’ve got four kids on the floor who didn’t play last year. They’re still learning every day. Lord help, it’s a work in progress, every time we hit the floor.”
Johnson scored four more points during the period, including a jumper with 10 seconds left that gave Sylvan Hills an 18-4 lead heading into the second quarter. Johnson had 11 points in the first quarter alone.
“She can play; she’s a dandy,” Rodden said. “You can’t say enough about her. She’s worked really hard on her perimeter shooting. She can play any position I need her to, and she can run any offense we need to run.”
The Lady Bears extended their lead early in the second quarter with putback baskets by Jalmenal Byrd-Hudson and Lewis, as well as another three-pointer by Johnson that upped the lead to 25-4.
Johnson pushed it to 27-4 with a pair of free throws before the Lady Wolves finally showed signs of life with a 6-0 run. Kashima Wright closed out the half with a pair of free throws to make it 35-12.
Wright completed a solid first half at the free-throw line for Sylvan Hills, which went 9 of 10 compared to 0 of 6 for Lake Hamilton.
Johnson increased the lead to 41-15 with two baskets early in the third quarter, but she came out of the game with three fouls.
Kayla Ballard hit a three- pointer for Lake Hamilton, and Wright answered for Sylvan Hills.
The Lady Bears had a 52-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter before the Lady Wolves mounted their best charge of the game against mostly Sylvan Hills reserves.
Wright finished with 13 points and five rebounds for Sylvan Hills. Valecia Jarrett also had five rebounds. For Lake Hamilton, point guard Jasmine Collier led with 11 points while Ballard had nine.
Sylvan Hills will play Little Rock McClellan in the consolation finals tonight at 6:30 p.m.
