5 keys to Oakland's sweep over Smyrna

Oakland's girls captured a come-from-behind 58-43 win over Smyrna Friday night to remain in third place (4-2) in District 7-AAA.

In the boys game, Oakland routed Smyrna 49-18 to remain unbeaten in league play and tied for first in the district with Blackman.

The Blaze and Patriots battle Monday at Blackman in a make-up of a postponed game from Jan. 6.

Here are five keys to Oakland's sweep over Smyrna:

Strong second for Cook

Belmont commitment Maddie Cook didn’t score a point in the first quarter and Oakland struggled to score, only managing four first-quarter points.

Cook came on strong in the second quarter, however, driving to the basket, scoring layups and drawing fouls.

She had 11 second-quarter points and 13 in the second half, tallying 24 overall points to lead all scorers. The Lady Bulldogs couldn’t contain her.

“I was just really pumped up,” Cook said. “It was my teammates. They got the ball to me real fast. I made all of those points because of them.”

“Maddie’s got a lot of ability, and I thought tonight she was extremely effective,” said Oakland coach Jennifer Grandstaff. “When she’s effective it makes our game a whole lot easier.”

Lady Bulldogs hit the boards early

In the first quarter Smyrna built a 14-4 lead and increased it to 25-11 midway through the second quarter.

The Lady Patriots were 1-of-14 in the first quarter and most of their possessions were one-and-out as the Lady Bulldogs outrebounded Oakland in the early going 17-9.

Diamond Forrest had eight rebounds in the game, and Kesha Brady and Tyra Hughes each had seven.

“I thought we were getting outplayed in every area of the game,” said Grandstaff. “We put ourselves in a hole.”

Lady Patriots overcome 14-point deficit

Smyrna’s 25-11 lead dissipated down to six as Oakland went on an 8-0 run to end the first half, making it 25-19. Cook had six of the eight points.

Oakland tied the game up at 29-all in the third quarter. To start the fourth quarter, Oakland went on a 14-2 run to give the Lady Patriots a commanding 44-34 lead.

Setting up the showdown

The Patriots improved to 6-0 in District 7-AAA. They play a make-up game against Blackman Monday night, in a battle of the two undefeated first-place teams.

The winner will take over sole possession of first in the district.

Bulldogs can't overcome slow start

For the second consecutive game, the Bulldogs only managed seven points in the first half. The Patriots outscored the Bulldogs 20-5 in the second quarter to take a commanding 26-7 lead.