Lady Rams Stuns Wi-Hi

The Parkside girls basketball team pulled a stunner Friday night when they traveled to Wi-Hi for the first round of the state tournament and pulled out a 29-26 win. The Rams advance now to face Kent Island in the second round of the state tournament.

The teams would be in a close battle early on. Rachel Bratten tallied 4 of Parkside’s 8 points in the first quarter alone, while Taylor Russ would have 3 to pace the Indians. The teams would find themselves headed to half time with Parkside holding a 17-13 lead. The Indians then cranked up their defense, giving up just 2 points in the third quarter to pull even headed to the 4th. There, Bratten would add a bucket down low to push Parkside to a 4 point lead. Marrisa Taylor-James would answer right back to get her team with 2. Parkside would have the ball with 30 seconds left before turning it over, and Taylor-James would draw a foul attacking the basket. After making the 1st, she would miss the second. The Indians would be forced to foul, and sent Kimani Smith to the line. After missing the first, she would miss the second but Dajah Purnell would have her back, coming up with the offensive rebound. Bratten would then get fouled and make both free throws to push the lead to 3 with 5 seconds left. Wi-Hi would be able to get the ball to mid court, but could never get a shot off as the game would end with Parkside escaping with a 3 point win.