By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
POPLARVILLE – Gracie Falla has been one of the best-kept secrets Pine Belt sports for a couple of years now, but the word may be getting out to the rest of Mississippi.
Falla, a sophomore from Sacred Heart who is already one of the premier soccer players in the state, showed she can play a little hoops Thursday night in the Class 1A Quarterfinals at M.R. White Coliseum on the Pearl River Community College campus.
Falla put on a show, dazzling a loud audience in leading the Lady Crusaders to a 48-38 victory over Shaw. The win put Sacred Heart (17-11) in the 1A Final Four, facing Baldwyn at 10:30 a.m. Monday in the state semifinals at Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
“We had to keep it rolling,” said Falla. “It’s so hard to just take over. I mean, you don’t want to be selfish, but at this time of year, you want to just pull it all out. Something went through my head, like, ‘this is your game. You’ve got to step it up and win this thing.’”
No problem. All Falla did was pour in 37 points and grab 15 rebounds, singlehandedly showing which No. 24 on the floor was the better player.
“They had a very good team, and before the game, Coach O’Keefe told me their best player was No. 24 too, so let’s see who could do it better. And I always want to be better.”
Shaw’s No. 24, sophomore Katelyn Coleman, came into the game averaging 17 points per game, but she was held to just 7 points as the Lady Hawks as a team shot poorly from everywhere on the floor.
“She’s a really good player,” said Sacred Heart coach Matt O’Keefe. “We were chasing her all over the floor, and I thought Sarah Gallardo did a heck of a job defending her.
“We made a little adjustment. We played a little diamond-and-one on her, and we didn’t press, which we like to do. We were scared to press them, because of their quickness. The key was stopping (Coleman) and I thought we did that.”
Neither team shot the ball well in the first quarter, and there were far more turnovers than points in the first eight minutes, which ended with Shaw leading 6-5. The Lady Hawks were forced into nine turnovers in the period, and the Lady Crusaders turned it over eight times.
But the second quarter was when Falla turned on the jets, scoring 10 points in the quarter, as Sacred Heart began to get – and make – easy shots.
Indeed, after hitting just 1 of 10 shots in the first quarter, the Lady Crusaders converted 17 of 30 shots (56.7 percent) over the last three quarters.
The two teams traded the lead three times early in the second quarter before Kate Gallardo put Sacred Heart ahead to stay with a layup. That triggered a 10-0 run, capped by Falla’s 3-pointer from the left wing.
“We’re a ball-control team,” said O’Keefe. “We can’t run up and down with teams. We made some poor decisions doing that a couple of times.”
The Lady Crusaders led 20-12 at halftime and led by as many as 12 points midway through the third quarter but could never quite shake the Lady Hawks.
Shaw did an excellent job on the offensive glass in the second half, which enabled the Lady Hawks to put up 50 shots in the second half. However, they only made 10, and finished 16 of 72 from the field for the game.
Every time Shaw made a run, though, there was No. 24 for Sacred Heart with another cluster of baskets.
Falla finished the third quarter with scores on three straight possessions, two layups and a pull-up jumper from 17 feet.
It was the same in the fourth quarter. Shaw got as close as six points, 36-30, but Falla delivered a 12-foot jumper in the lane, then Sarah Gallardo got a fast-break layup, and finally it was Falla again with seven straight points to ice it for Sacred Heart.
“I kept saying, ‘we can’t let it get below 10,’” said Falla. “I just felt like I h ad to step up or we weren’t going to win.”
Shakenya Cooper had 19 points for Shaw, which finished its season 15-17.
“It was an ugly win, but a win’s a win,” said O’Keefe. “To be going back to Jackson with this group of kids is so exciting.
“And Gracie is special.”
Prep Basketball Summaries
MHSAA State Tournament
CLASS 1A SOUTH QUARTERFINALS
Thursday at Poplarville
GIRLS
Sacred Heart 48, Shaw 38
SH 5 15 16 12 – 48
Shaw 6 6 14 12 – 38
SACRED HEART (17-11): Mallory Gilbertson 5, Sarah Gallardo 2, Ella Mercier 2, Gracie Falla 37 (15 rebounds), Kate Gallardo 2. TOTALS – FG 18-40 (3FG 2-6), FT 10-21 (48).
SHAW (15-17): Shakenya Cooper 19, Jakhiaya White 3, Zoe Feltson 8, Katelyn Coleman 7, Kimbraya Rose 1. TOTALS – FG 16-72 (3FG 2-24), FT 4-14 (38).
