By Jacob Moreno

The first two days of the 20th annual Danny Rumph Classic was exclusively men’s action, but day three got started with the second annual women’s showcase. 

Four women’s teams duked it out to start day three for the right to play in the women’s showcase championship Sunday afternoon. 

Game One 

It took Team Candy a single quarter to establish themselves as the early championship favorites.

Dara Taylor got Team Candy started with two dazzling no-look passes and five minutes removed from tip-off, they already had Team Laney in a double-digit hole. Team Laney never recovered, suffering a 68-30 defeat at the hands of Team Candy.

Team Candy was in command with a five-point advantage throughout the early stages of the first half. Taylor was the conductor of the offense with court vision that yielded easy looks for her teammates. Brazil H. Carr overwhelmed Team Laney down low with a flurry of strong finishes at the rim. 

Nothing came easy for Team Laney, which only notched four points in the first eight minutes of action. Team Candy took advantage by pushing the tempo off each Team Laney miss to create easy looks in transition. 

Before the crowd knew it, Team Candy cracked open a convincing 29-point lead at halftime. Team Laney converted on less than 25% of their attempts by the time halftime rolled around. Raanee Smith was responsible for six of Team Laney’s nine first-half points.

Team Candy kept their foot on the gas out of the break, extending the lead to 34 points within the opening stages of the second half. The intense defense discouraged Team Laney from venturing to the rim as they finished the game shooting 4-18 from beyond the arc.

Team Candy’s cohesion on both ends of the floor got the best of Team Laney at the end. Taylor continued to pour it on, showcasing her range from the paint to the perimeter. She finished with 21 points and five rebounds in the 38-point victory.

Team Candy will face the winner of the matchup between Team Harper and Team Lucas in the championship, while Team Laney was sent home.

Game Two

Throughout the first half, Teams Harper and Lucas emphatically traded buckets, leading many to assume the trend would bleed into the third quarter. However, Team Harper had other plans.

Team Lucas ran into a dry spell early in the second half, and Team Harper capitalized. They delivered a barrage of points. Before Team Lucas could catch their breath, they faced a 15-point deficit that they never quite recovered from, in a 63-50 loss.

Each team aggressively traded blows in the opening act, as Team Lucas held a three-point lead halfway into the first quarter. They used their ball movement to keep the offense flowing and catch Team Harper off guard. 

However, Taylor O’Brien’s hot hand kept Team Harper in reach.

She scored nine of Team Harper’s first 16 points and cashed in a transition layup to gain them a two-point advantage. Team Lucas’s offense went cold and Team Harper jumped on the opportunity to take the lead after one period of play. 

Team Lucas snapped back into the game to trim the deficit to one point by halfway through the second quarter. Nevertheless, Jordan Wallace made sure they could never snatch the lead. She knocked down her first three shots from the field and had six first-half points.

But for a moment, it seemed like Team Lucas had the momentum; thanks to Ayanna Mazyck.

Mazyck drilled a shot from beyond the arc to hand Team Lucas the lead for the first time since the opening frame. However, Team Harper had answers of its own with four unanswered points for a two-point halftime cushion. 

Team Lucas wasn’t able to maintain the momentum created in the first half as they fell into a double-digit hole early on in the third quarter. Their offense stalled while Team Harper used the chance to grow the lead yet again.

In the closing minutes of the third quarter, Team Lucas was able to trim the deficit back to single digits. They were able to slow the pace down and blew up Team Harper’s post-ups with precise double teams. Heading into the last 10 minutes, Team Harper survived Team Lucas’ late surge and re-established an 11-point lead. 

This proved nail in the coffin as Team Lucas was kept at a firm arm’s distance throughout the entire fourth quarter. Backed by O’Brien’s 19 points and Kiki Jefferson’s 16 points, Team Harper glided to a championship berth behind a 13-point win.

Team Harper will take on Team Candy in the championship while Team Lucas was sent on an unplanned vacation.