Carver’s Alondra Gray fights through a BTW-Tuskegee defender for a shot in the Lady Wolverines’ win on Wednesday. (Staff Photo)

Staff Report
(Feb. 17, 2010)

There are different ways Booker T. Washington coach Charles Biggers might explain how his Golden Eagles suffered a second-consecutive blowout in the Class 5A Central Regional tournament.

“I guess call it the Carver mystique,” he explained.

The Lady Wolverines led 38-7 at the half and never looked back in a 60-35 rout of BTW-Tuskegee. It was the second-straight year Carver had won in large fashion over the Eagles.

Carver won last year’s semifinal meeting, 74-41.

“I can’t really explain it,” Carver coach Michelle Simmons said. “We didn’t know what to expect since we didn’t get to play them this year. We felt like they had some good players. They had given Lanier their first (and only regular-season) loss. We had respect for them.”

That respect probably waned before the end of the first quarter when Carver took a 19-3 lead. BTW-Tuskegee missed 23 of its first 24 shots in the game as well as the first six free throws.

“Déjà vu all over again,” Biggers said. “I have expressed all season that we can’t dig a hole like we did last year, especially against a team like Carver. But we missed free throws. We missed lay ups. We had a slew of turnovers.

“When we beat Lanier, it was almost unexplainable. I admit I was surprised.”

The large margin allowed Carver to work on several new facets of its offense. Simmons made sure she gave many of the six injured players on her roster time on the court to see how they would hold up.

“We lost a player to an ACL (Tanishia Harris), two sprained ankles and one we thought had a concussion,” Simmons said. “We needed to see who could go on the bigger court.”

One of those with a bad wheel was forward Shatavia Farris, who finished with 14 points to lead all scorers. Her injury came against Selma in the area championship.

It is one reason why she wants to play the Saints again.

“I am fine, thank you,” Farris said with a smile. “I only got to play them one time this year so I’d like one more shot.”

BTW-Tuskegee finished 9 of 57 from the field for 15.8 percent. They missed all 12 3-point attempts and suffered 18 turnovers.

Carver played 13 players on its roster and shot 42 percent for the game. The Wolverines also missed all five 3-point attempts.

Carver will play in the regional final on Friday at 1:20 p.m.