The Vardaman Lady Rams’ magical season came to an end Monday morning when they lost 49-47 to Shaw in the Class 1A semifinals at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
“It was just one of those games that came down to making a play on the last possession and unfortunately it wasn’t us this time,” Vardaman Coach Deanna Winter said.
After Lady Ram senior Shylysses Rimmer sunk two free throws to tie the game at 47 with 21 seconds to play, Shaw drove the length of the field and hit a running shot in the lane with three seconds left. Vardaman’s desperation in bounds pass to mid court was intercepted, ending the game.
“I thought they played hard,” Winter said. “We got into foul trouble. We probably did better than we should have without those two in the end.”
Diamond Vance and Brittany Hawkins, who were defensive leaders for Vardaman, both fouled out early in the final period.
The Lady Rams’ strategy was to keep it a half-court game, which paid off for most of the morning with the score remaining tight throughout with no team ever having more than a five point lead.
“We’re fast, but they’re a little faster, so we tried to slow them down and keep it a half court game,” Winter said. “I think it frustrated them some, but they found their shot at the end and then with our foul trouble, it was just more than we could handle.”
Alaysia Madkins led the scoring for Vardaman with 17 points. Rimmer added 13 and a team-high nine rebounds. Hawkins scored five points, had five rebounds and two blocks. Vance led the defensive effort with five rebounds and three steals. Mykilah Williams had a big game off the bench for the Lady Rams with seven rebounds.
Raven James led Shaw with 10 points. Four other Lady Hawks scored either eight or nine.
The loss ended the Lady Rams’ season with a 25-10 record.
“I told them (in the locker room) not to hang their heads,” Winter said. “I know it hurts to be two points away from your goal, but they’ve done so much. Thirty-two years since we’ve been here and we’re proud they got us here.”