Fulwiley leads Keenan girls past Woodruff in 3A playoffs

Keenan coach Reggie Mclain has grown accustomed to seeing outstanding performances from Milaysia Fulwiley despite the fact she’s still in the eighth grade.

She was at it again on Thursday night during the Raiders’ 67-48 victory over Woodruff in the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs. Fulwiley scored 22 points and added 10 steals to disrupt the Wolverines at nearly every turn.

“She means a lot to everything we do,” Mclain said of his all-state performer. “She pretty much facilitates everything happening on the floor. We want her to be a little more aggressive in terms of scoring but she’s a very unselfish, humble player that tries to get everyone involved.”

Keenan (17-7) has won 14 games in a row. The Raiders will travel to Seneca for a third-round matchup on Monday.

Fulwiley was at her best in the decisive second half. The Raiders led 31-27 at the break but got a break early in the second half.

Woodruff all-state performer Zavia Jeter had torched Keenan for 14 points in the first half and along with Brooke Bailey, kept the Wolverines close.

But Jeter picked up her third and fourth fouls just a little more three minutes into in the third quarter with Keenan leading 34-29. Fulwiley was the catalyst of an 18-7 spurt that gave Keenan a 52-36 lead when Fulwiley connected on a 3-pointer just before the end of the period.

By the time Jeter checked back in with 6:12 remaining, the Raiders led 55-40 and it was all but decided.

“When (Jeter) got in foul trouble, it definitely changed the game,” Mclain said. “Once she got back in, we went to a box-and-one and stayed back in a zone and that helped us out a little bit.”

Fulwiley had five of her steals while Jeter was on the bench.

“I anticipate every pass and put my hands out wide. I try to get to anything I can get,” the soft-spoken eighth-grader said.

Keenan stayed away from those foul issues despite three players picking up two early fouls.

Fellow all-state selection Dyani Burke had to sit a lot of the first half after picking up her second foul four minutes into the game.

Burke checked back in with 5:44 remaining in the half when Woodruff held a 21-20 lead. She played nearly the rest of the way as Keenan outscored the visitors 11-6 from that point.

“Early in the game, we got in foul trouble with three kids having two fouls,” Mclain said. “We decided we didn’t want them to pick that third foul up. We had to put Burke back in because it was so close. She didn’t pick up that third foul so that was key for us.”

Burke added 13 points and Tamara Davis chipped in 12 points as 10 players scored for the Raiders.

Jeter finished with 14 points after not scoring in the second half. Bailey led Woodruff (19-5) with 15 points while Kaliyah Gilliam added 10 points.

W – Brooke Bailey 15, Zavia Jeter 14, Kaliyah Gilliam 10, Moates 6, Rhodes 2, Runyans 1. K – Milaysia Fulwiley 22, Dyani Burke 13, Tamara Davis 12, Woods 6, Dukes 5, Lewis 3, Wilson 2, V. Jones 2, Marshall 1, C. Jones 1.