Balanced Warner Robins girls rout Morrow

Morrow’s Daja Green did plenty of damage against Warner Robins on Friday in the first round of the GHSA Class 5A girls playoffs.

But Green by herself couldn’t overcome Warner Robins’ deep and balanced attack. While Green finished with 18 points, the Demons were never really threatened as they cruised to a 68-41 first-round victory.

Warner Robins led by 10 after the first quarter and extended that lead to 19 at the half and remained in control throughout the second half.

Four who mattered

Kezia Holmes: Holmes led the Demons with 22 points, including both of Warner Robins’ 3-pointers.

Shynia Jackson: Jackson added 19 points, including 11 in the second half.

Victoria Brown/Courtney Walker: Both Demons players finished with eight points.

Observations

Aggressive play pays off: Warner Robins took the ball to the basket and forced Morrow to foul throughout the game. The Demons made 20-of-30 free throws, while the Mustangs were just 3-of-9.

Pressure pays off: Warner Robins’ fullcourt press was just too much for Morrow, which struggled with turnovers throughout.

They said it

Warner Robins head coach Tracy Fendley on the win: “I thought we gave great effort. We came in with a strategy for that team, and I thought we executed that strategy really well. The girls are hungry to keep pressing through this state tournament.”

Fendley on her team’s depth: “I felt like they had one really good player on their team who could play, and she deserves a lot of credit for her play. We have a team full of girls who can play. We’ve got five girls on the court most of the time who can score for us, and I think that’s where our success comes from.”

What’s next?

Warner Robins advances to the second round and will host Wednesday or Thursday.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Balanced Warner Robins girls rout Morrow."