The Bowdon High School sophomore guard led the way to a 70-66 home win over Heard County in a Region 5-AA showdown.
With the Red Devils (9-9, 3-2 Region 5-AA) trailing by one point, Maze's fifth 3-pointer of the night went in with just 50 seconds left to give the home squad a 68-66 lead. On the following Heard County (3-14, 1-3) possession, C.J. Brewer would pick up a steal and Chris Keith would convert for the four-point lead to put the game away.
"He's lights out. When he's on, he's on. He shoots a lot of jump shots, about [400] to 500 a day, so that should be like a lay-up for him," Bowdon coach Antonio Smith said. "Other players contributed, too, and he was just one piece of the entire thing. Somebody has to pass him the ball, somebody has to rebound the ball. It was a team effort [Friday], but obviously he's one of the better shooters we have on the team."
Bowdon held the edge after each quarter, but the Braves never went away. After the Red Devils built a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Heard County started chipping away and took the lead with just over five minutes to go and had a three-point advantage with two and a half left in the game. Maze's 3 changed that and gave Bowdon the crucial region win.
While it was an exciting endeavor and his team was able to pull it out, those games can be hard on Smith.
"It's not good from a coaching perspective — you want the easy ones. It was a good game, a region game and the crowd got into it. We made some shots, some key shots, and fortunately we was on the right end of the stick. It's a good game. I enjoyed it. The guys played hard for both teams. We just ended up being the team on the right side of the stick. I'll take that any day," Smith said.
Maze finished the game with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, but it was Brewer with the big night, leading the way with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. Marcus Thurman added 12 points and eight boards, while Keith had the 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Bowdon girls 64, Heard County 50: On a night they honored their seniors, the Red Devilettes (10-8, 3-2) did not disappoint. Each of the five seniors playing scored two points each in the first 10 points of the game en route to a 14-point win at home against the Lady Braves.
"Senior Night, that meant a lot to these girls and to put us in a good position in region," Bowdon coach Remonica Stephens said. "We've been telling the girls all year. Like I told them in [the locker room], even when the lead switched hands, we didn't quit. We didn't have those mental breakdowns we had to deal with all year. They're growing up."
Each of the five seniors dressed — Jacole Stephens, Trinity Strickland, Whitney McClure, Lyric Maze and Jenna Lane — started the game and one-by-one put in a basket as they led 10-6. The sixth senior, Sydney Boddie, was sitting out her second straight game and will return to the lineup ready to play today.
Bowdon led by four after one quarter, by two at halftime and the game was tied heading into the fourth quarter. Natalie Brown opened the fourth quarter scoring by making a pair of free throws and the Red Devilettes never looked back, going on a 9-0 run taking control of the game.
Stephens led the way with a monster night, as the senior finished just three assists shy of a triple-double, scoring 22 points, with 13 rebounds and seven assists. That kind of game mimics how far the team has come this season — even from its best player.
"The old senior is growing up. She's maturing. She's had up and down games all season, but I think the last couple of games she's started understanding what's going on and what it means and what she can do. Thank god for growing up mentally and physically," Remonica Stephens said.
Even though Jacole Stephens was the high-scorer, Bowdon got plenty of production from everyone stepping on the floor. Katlyn Buchanan and Reshay Brewer both reached double figures scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively, as 10 Red Devilettes scored in the game.
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