Round 4 of Pillow Academy’s rivalry with powerhouse Leake Academy lived up to the hype in Saturday’s North 5A championship.
The Lady Mustangs withstood a late rally by Miriam Prince and the Lady Rebels, avenging a loss in last year’s North 5A title game with a gritty 57-49 victory at Heritage Academy.
After losing the first two meetings, Pillow has now won the last two matchups against the defending Overall champs to even their season series at 2-2 heading into next week’s Class 5A tournament.
Sophomore forward Avery Howard scored seven of her nine points in the opening frame to help the Lady Mustangs (29-4) jump out to an early 21-9 lead after the first quarter. Leake roared back with a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, but Pillow weathered the storm and responded with a 6-0 run of its own. Sarah Presley Howard tallied nine of her team-high 20 points in the second quarter as the Lady Mustangs took a 33-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Lady Rebels found their 3-point shooting stroke in the third quarter, cutting their deficit to 39-37 heading into the fourth quarter. Pillow stretched its lead to 45-39 early in the final frame, but Prince soon took over the game after being held in check for the first three quarters by the Lady Mustangs’ top defender, Georgia Caroline Self. Prince, Leake’s leading scorer, poured in seven points in 30 seconds to give the Lady Rebels their first lead since early in the first quarter.
Every time Leake seized momentum, though, Pillow had an answer.
Avery Howard gave the Lady Mustangs a 47-46 edge, then Sarah Presley Howard put back her own miss to make it 49-46. Prince wouldn’t allow her Lady Rebels to go away easily, tying the game with a 3-pointer from the corner with three minutes left. After 90 seconds of scoreless action, sophomore guard Elise Howard broke the deadlock with a clutch steal and difficult finish in transition, her first points of the game to give Pillow a 51-49 lead with 1:30 remaining. Elise Howard totaled six points, all in the last 90 seconds, to seal a hard-fought win for the Lady Mustangs.
Prince, who finished with a game-high 26 points, scored all 12 of Leake’s points in the fourth quarter.
With the win, Pillow extended its winning streak to 14 games. Sarah Presley Howard racked up eight rebounds and three assists to go along with her 20 points. Madeline Mattox added 14 points and six boards while Avery Howard pulled down 11 rebounds, blocked three shots and dished out two assists to go along with her nine points. Elise Howard totaled eight boards and six assists while Self pitched in five points and three rebounds.
- Contact Riley Overend at roverend@gwcommonwealth.com.
