Jamya Smith’s hot hand led Selma back from a 16-point deficit Friday in a 47-45 victory over county rival Keith.

Smith’s six three-pointers led the comeback and Charmekia Moore’s fastbreak layup with 1:09 left was the deciding basket in a game that came down to the final possession. Keith (3-3) was unable to answer, turning the ball over multiple times in the last 44.7 seconds.

“That was a great win,” Selma head coach Anthony Harris said. “It shows us that we can match up with some of the best because Keith has a good ballclub.”

Smith led the way, but not before a gut checking first half. Normally an accurate three-point shooter, she missed her first eight attempts from the outside Friday. Keith took advantage, taking a 28-12 lead late in the first half.

With a late first half run, Selma cut the gap to 28-18 at halftime and then Smith found the range. She rattled in four straight attempts and five overall in the third quarter to lead a 28-9 run that tied the game.

Her final two threes came just five seconds apart and turned Selma’s six-point deficit into a 35-35 tie. With every made shot, the Saints crowd just got louder until it reached a fever pitch when Smith capped her 18 point night by tying the game.

“If she shoots it 50 times, I’m going to tell her to continue to shoot it,” Harris said. “It is going to soon come.”

Keith kept losing track of Smith, which irritated Bears coach Cecil Williams.

“We knew [Smith] was the shooter and we just kept leaving her open,” Williams said. “Some things you just can’t explain.”

All of a sudden, Keith, which looked like it might coast to its second double digit win over Selma (5-3) this year, found itself in a tied game in a raucous environment. Smith kept her hot run going with a steal, passing to Moore for a layup to put Selma up 37-35. That was the Saints’ first lead since the first quarter.

Selma led 40-39 after three quarters and Harris chose to slow the tempo down. He ran minutes at a time off the clock, setting up the play he wanted and making sure his players were in the right position.

The strategy looked as if it might pay off for Keith, as the Bears scored the first four points of the final quarter. Selma answered as Jacquetta Dailey hit a floater in the lane and a Moore layup gave the Lady Saints a 45-43 advantage.

Keith’s Harriet Winchester, who had a quiet night, hit a jumpshot to tie the game at 45-45 with just over a minute remaining.

A steal on a Keith inbounds play seconds later resulted in a wide open layup for Moore, who gave Selma the lead for good.

Moore and Kynadra Lewis scored eight points for the Lady Saints. Zykia Pettway scored 14 points to lead the Lady Bears.

 

Selma 59, Keith 43 (Boys)

It took a buzzer beating three-pointer for Selma to defeat Keith in the first meeting between the rivals earlier this year.

The Saints didn’t make it anywhere near as difficult Friday, clamping down on the Bears defensively and rolling to a 59-43 win. Selma led by double digits for the final 21 minutes of the game.

“They are buying and playing like I like to play. They are playing good hard nosed defense and they are playing hard all the time,” Selma head coach Woodie Jackson said.

The Saints were also back at full strength, as four suspended players returned. Ten different players scored for Selma (7-1) in the win, which was clearly a complete team effort.

Dexter Hatcher, who even at his 6’4” size, led the fastbreak numerous times throughout the night and led the Saints in scoring with 14 points.

He also delivered a dunk at the end of the third quarter that upped Selma’s lead to 44-24. Aderick Moore added another 11 points for the Saints.

Keith head coach Tommy Tisdale credited his team for playing hard the entire game and thought there was a lot his team could learn from the loss.

“We needed this,” Tisdale said. “They looked at me like I was speaking Chinese, but we’ve got caught up in the press and the ‘You’re good, and you’re supposed to be this and supposed to be that.’ We’ve been flirting with this for four games.”

Tisdale said it’s the small plays that are holding the Bears back, but he’s confident those problems can be corrected over the next few months.

Keith was led in scoring by John Pettway, who scored nine points.