Patriots bow out in South Regional final

DOTHAN – Linden scuffled from the free throw line and started its comeback effort a little too late in a 57-48 loss to J.F. Shields in the Class 1A Girls South Regional Tuesday.

“Resilient. Hard working. Dedicated. Willing to fight to the end. Even at the end, we were still trying to score there,” Linden coach Teressa Bolden said of her team, which ends its season at 22-5.

In a rematch of the 2016 South Regional final, Linden led 12-6 after one quarter of play before Shields wrested away the momentum. The Panthers tied the game at 19 by halftime and proceeded to steadily open up a lead in the second half.

Linden found itself down 41-32 with 5:58 to go in the game before it began to turn the tide. The Patriots’ first field goal of the fourth quarter came on a Tyroneisha Charleston bucket off a Dajia Miller assist with 5:03 to play to cut it to 43-35.

Linden started its run in earnest with 3:23 to go as Miller hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 47-41. Charleston connected on a layup off an Imiya Agee pass with 2:24 left to make it 48-43. After a steal, Amber Richardson turned a Miller dime into a layup to slice it to 48-45. Linden could get no closer.

Mar’quaja Brown put the Panthers on her shoulders in the second half, scoring 17 of her 21 points after the intermission including 11 in the fourth quarter. That scoring output combined with Shamya Johnson’s 19 points and 21 rebounds proved too much for Linden to overcome.

The Patriots were a paltry 8 of 20 from the free throw line in the contest including 3 of 11 in the first half.

“A major difference. We were 8 for 20. That’s not good. Not good,” Bolden acknowledged.

Boykin paced Linden with 20 points in the final game of her senior season.

“She is quiet, easy going, a quick learner. She is one of those kids that is coachable. She is somebody that everybody wants on their team. She’s a leader, definitely,” Bolden said of Boykin, who has spent some six seasons with the Linden varsity.

Charleston, a sophomore, added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Patriots. Miller had five points, seven assists and six steals.

“We definitely see potential in her because she went from playing very little to starting. We definitely see the potential for her to grow and we’ve got a lot of work to do this summer,” Bolden said of Charleston.

Charleston, Boykin, Miller and Richardson each made the All-Tournament team for Linden.