Goodly scores 33 to give St. Louis win

{{tncms-inline alignment="left" content="<p>St. Louis  58  |  DeRidder  47</p>" id="9a90fe09-afbb-4076-b034-73ba048061ab" style-type="quote" title="Pull Quote" type="relcontent"}}

Guard Alexandria Goodly asked for the ball late in St. Louis’ game against DeRidder Tuesday night, and delivered in a big way to lead the Saints to a 58-47 win.

Goodly scored 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Saints escaped with the win after trailing through all of the first three quarters. She finished ith 33 points, as did DeRidder star Domonique Davis.

St. Louis coach Tony Johnson said Goodly’s competitive spirit carried the team to victory.

"She is a heck of a competitor," Johnson said. "When we put the ball in her court, she wants to do the best she can. That’s what’s called a great athlete. She put on a show in the fourth quarter. She told me ‘I got it.’ When she tells me that, I let her go."

With DeRidder (4-3) leading 36-34 after three quarters, Goodly scored the first eight Saints (5-2) points of the fourth quarter, giving them their first lead with a steal and layup with 6:23 left in the game. She opened the quarter with 3-pointers on each of the first two St. Louis possessions.

DeRidder rallied to tie the score at 45 on a pair of free throws by Davis, but the Saints ended the game with a 13-2 run. Goodly started the final burst with her third 3-pointer of the quarter with 2:22 left. She scored nine of the Saints’ 13 points in the run, adding another basket off a steal and making all four free-throw attempts.

Davis dominated most of the game, scoring 26 points over the first three quarters, including 10 in the first as the Dragons started the game with a 7-0 run and led 24-16 at the half.

"She is a great player," Johnson said of Davis. "She can play off the dribble, she can penetrate and score … she is just a dynamic player. We really tried to double her and wear her down by the fourth quarter, when she only scored on free throws. Those were two great athletes on the court tonight, her and Goodly. Those are special kids."

Johnson said the Saints’ depth and determination paid off late.

"Mackenzie Williams and Myca Trail, two freshmen, came in and gave us good minutes," he said. "That allowed our starters (Maggie Bruchhaus and Aaliyah Williams) to come back in and play full speed. We went to our press game and that helped us out. We were able to create some turnovers.

"I told them that if we could get their lead down to two or four points by the end of the third quarter, we would have a chance to win, and they believed."

St. Louis  58  |  DeRidder  47

SportsPlus