The GRC Hoops team will be headed back to the Elite Eight after a 51-43 win over the Mercer County Titans last night. 

The Cards got out to a very fast start in the first quarter. After falling behind 4-0 in the first minutes, the Cardinals went on a 19-5 run the rest of the quarter that gave them a comfortable lead going into the second. 

In the second quarter, the Cards let Mercer climb their way back into the game, outscoring GRC 12-6 and cutting a 10-point lead to just 4. 

“In the second quarter, we were flat; the ball wasn’t moving,” Coach Robbie Graham said in the post-game presser. “We were not getting good shots. We forced a couple shots and had some crucial turnovers.” 

After leading since the beginning of the first quarter, the Cards found themselves up only one with six minutes to go in the game. That was until the Cardinals got out into transition to find Brianna Byars open down to the floor to put in a wide open layup to get the lead back to three.

Then it was her sister Ciara scoring six straight unanswered points to extend GRC’s lead to eight with 2:44 on the clock. Ciara led GRC with 22 points and six boards, while Brianna finished with 14 points and three rebounds.

Coach Graham definitely liked his team’s effort a lot more in the final quarter compared to the rest of the game. 

“In the fourth quarter I feel like we played with a little more fire, a little more juice,” he said. “We finished a little more, the ball was moving, we executed a lot better offensively, and we were able to get some better shots.” 

A player who has really been playing well of late for the Cards is freshman Anaya Chestnut. She continued to have the hot hand against Mercer. She only took five shot attempts but made three 3s to finish with nine points. She’s now 11-18 in three point attempts in her last three games. Shooting wasn’t the only thing though she did well last night though. She tied Ciara with six rebounds, and Coach Graham praised his guard for her play of late. 

“She’s a really good rebounder for a guard and for her size,” he said. “She has a nose for the ball and she goes and gets it. Speaking of her shooting, she’s always shooting it well in practice. She’s gaining some confidence in the game to let it fly. She had really good games in the region tournament, which I think carried over to this game and hopefully will continue to carry over for the next game.”   

GRC did get outrebounded last night which hasn’t really happened all year and Graham would like to see that fixed as they continue tournament play. 

“We got outrebounded by four, which hasn’t happened often this year,” he said. “That definitely has to improve, for us to continue to advance. We let them just crash, crash, crash.” 

Senior Brianna Byars thought that some experience helped the Cards stretch a lead late and pull out the win. 

“I think with this being my senior year, it makes everybody more hungry,” she said. “We want to make it as far as we can and come out on top. I try to show the same leadership to the team as I had when I was in 8th grade playing.” 

The Hoops team is back into the Elite 8 and will look to advance to the Final Four for the third time in Graham’s tenure. They’ll face the North Laurel Jaguars Friday at 1:30. North Laurel is now 30-6 after beating Frederick Douglass in the opener. 

Link to Marissa Gilchrist’s Round One Photos