ROBERSONVILLE — What can Brown do for you? If you’re Riverside coach Hughes Barber you’re hoping the answer to that question is deliver a state title.
All season long Barber as relied on point guard Jalyn Brown to facilitate his offense, play defense and put points on the scoreboard and in Friday night’s 53-47 victory over Southside in the Four Rivers Conference tournament title game she did all of the above.
On Friday, the lightning-quick sophomore tallied a game-high 22 points and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 47 seconds of the game to help preserve Riverside’s lead and clinch a No. 1 seed in the NCHSAA 1-A state tournament.
“It was either do or die; it was crunch time,” Brown said. “You got to either make them and win or miss them and lose and I’m the type of person who wants to win.”
It’s that kind of attitude, and ability to rise to the occasion, that has impressed her coach.
“Late in the game she made them when it was on the line,” Barber said. “She made layups, got fouled, went to the free throw line and made them.”
Holding a slim lead over the Seahawks late in the game, Brown’s ability to ball-handle and make free throws was critical as she danced around Southside defenders until they finally caught up with her to apply a clock-stopping foul. Once she got to the line it was business as usual.
“She’s our best ball ballhandler. We have two really good ones but she’s our best,” Barber said. “It’s nice to have that at the end of the game because we can just put the ball in her hands and let her dribble in circles. If she’s going to make her free throws why pass it?”
Brown would finish the going 8-for-9 from the free throw line while Riverside as a team only converted 13 of its 34 attempts.
Last season Brown tallied 8.7 points, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals a game and was named a Washington Daily News All-Area first-teamer. This season she is posting 13.6 points per contest and is dishing out 2.7 assists and making 3.3 steals a night. That production has helped Riverside put together a 25-2 record and earn the No. 1 1-A ranking in the state according to NCPreps.com.
“Her game has grown immensely. Last year she had moves but this year every part of her game has gotten better,” Barber said. “She’s our leading scorer by far. She’s going to be our main ballhandler and if teams want to press us she can be a one-man press-breaker; and not just that, she passes the ball well too.”
Despite her prowess on offense, this year’s Riverside team is defined by its defense which is another area Brown leads by example.
“Defensively, her and Jo’Neka (Brown) are unbelievable because they are so quick,” Barber said. “She’s gotten much better on-ball this year. She’s quick and gets in passing lanes and she’s just an all-around good player.”
With the Knights preparing for a run at a state title, Barber said the key for Brown is to play explosive yet disciplined.
“The thing is we create a lot of havoc (on defense) and get the ball in transition a lot but we can still run sets and she has to be the ringleader,” Barber said. “She and Dasia (Moore) are the ones running the show. If they’re not on mentally and don’t know when to pull it out and slow it up and set up then we’re not very good, but when they’re on their game we can be tough.”