GREENWOOD — The Lamar School girls basketball squad’s quest for a state title came up short Saturday afternoon, as the Lady Raiders fell to familiar foe East Rankin Academy 50-30 in the MAIS Class AAAA, Division II state title game.

The undermanned Lamar squad, missing key players including junior Chloe Johnson, struggled offensively and only made four perimeter shots in the entire contest.

“We played close to them at home and only lost by five, but today, East Rankin was clearly the better team,” Lamar Head basketball coach Josh Sherer said. “They went to a 1-2-2 zone against us, and it stagnated our offense.”

With East Rankin content on stopping the dynamic inside 1-2 punch of Lamar’s Ambreah Waters and Debreasha Powers, the Lady Raiders struggled from the outside and were never able to get going offensively.

Waters, a junior, had five points in the first quarter and dominated the boards. East Rankin’s Bailey Thompson chipped in 10 points in the first quarter, and the Patriots led 16-12 at the end of the stanza. When Waters picked up her third foul 2 minutes into the second quarter and had to sit out the remainder of the quarter, all seemed lost for Lamar. 

But a strong defensive performance by Lamar kept the score reasonable, as East Rankin only outscored Lamar 6-5 in the second quarter to give them a 22-17 halftime lead. Powe had all five of Lamar’s points in the second period.

East Rankin outscored Lamar 16-4 in the third quarter to take command of the game at 38-21 going into the fourth. East Rankin’s Brooke Turnage scored nine points inside, as the constant pounding of the ball by East Rankin took its toll on Lamar.

“They knew that we were short-handed,” Sherer said after the game. “And with Ambreah and Debreasha both picking up their fourth fouls in the the third quarter, we had to lay off of them inside, and they took advantage of that.”

With the eighth grader Powe fouling out in the fourth, and with constant double teaming of Waters all over the court, Lamar could not overcome East Rankin’s suffocating defense and was outscored 12-9 over the final 8 minutes.

Waters finished the game with 10 points to lead the Lady Raiders. Powe had 10 points and six blocks, a good game but a far cry from her dominating 20-point, eight-block performance versus homestanding Pillow Academy in the Lady Raiders’ seminfinal victory the previous night.  East Rankin was led by Turnage with 20 points and Thompson with 13.

All-tournament team honors went to three Lamar players: Waters, Powe, and sophomore point guard Isabella Sherer.

The second-place tournament finish qualifies the Lady Raiders for the Overall state basketball tournament next week. Their opponent and date for their next game has yet to be determined.