Baylor junior Amiya Leach found her spot on the right wing inside Duke Arena and provided a massive jolt to spark a runaway 48-28 victory over GPS on Thursday night.
The sharp-shooting guard provided the Lady Red Raiders their first lead of the TSSAA Division II-AA East Region matchup with 1:15 left in the second quarter, when she drilled an open 3-pointer set up by sophomore Xahara Willis, who grabbed an offensive rebound before passing to Leach.
On the next possession, Leach swished another basket from the same spot — this time off a beautiful find by eighth grader Aubrey Bush — to build a 17-11 halftime lead.
"We all work together and try to get the best shot for the team," said Leach, who made a trio of 3-pointers to help Baylor (13-6, 1-1) pick up its 11th win in its past 13 games. "We really wanted this win in a big rivalry game. Once we started making shots, we bounced off each other. We really got rolling and pumped up. From there, we had the momentum for the rest of the way."
The Bruisers (7-10, 0-2) jumped out to a 9-3 lead after a first quarter in which sophomore Ariana Ivery dominated the glass with six rebounds.
GPS senior Farah House's strong finish down the left baseline provided an 11-5 lead for the visitors two minutes into the second quarter on a night when she scored a game-high 12 points. However, first-year Bruisers head coach Nichole Dixon's team had no answer for the Lady Red Raiders' ensuing run.
Bush, the team's point guard, began what became a 29-2 surge with a mid-range jumper off the right side of the free-throw line, which was followed by a physical finish by Willis for a three-point play opportunity. Willis scored a team-high 11 points and brought intensity throughout the win with her tough play in the paint and key kick-outs to hot shooters.
"Xahara is an adrenaline person," Baylor coach John Gibson said. "She feeds off herself and adrenaline. She is so physically strong and hard to deal with. She was huge in big spots for us, along with Amiya, Aubrey and a few other girls."
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Baylor eighth grader Schoti Marchand kept the floodgates open in the second half as her deep 3-pointer from the right wing on another great find by Bush capped a 23-0 run to build a 28-11 lead. A few minutes later, a driving layup by Bush extended the lead to 34-13.
Bush finished with nine points and a game-high six assists in her first game against the rival Bruisers.
"Even though we didn't make shots early, we defended extremely well," said Gibson, before adding of the Bruisers: "Midway through the third quarter, they still had 11 points.
"If you can do that when things don't go your way, you give yourself a great chance. We stayed the course and really played well there for a long stretch. Amiya's 3s at the end of the first half were huge and boosted our confidence."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.
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