PK Yonge’s Ashlyn Young scores 27 points in win over Eastside

If the first quarter was any indication, the PK Yonge and Eastside girls basketball teams were in for a long night as they battled at Eastside on Wednesday night.

At the conclusion of the first period, just one field goal had been made as the Blue Wave led the Rams by 3 points thanks to a basket from freshman Ashlyn Young and a pair of free throws from sophomore Zion McRae. Meanwhile, Eastside’s lone point came thanks to a free throw from junior Precious Marshall.

“Just wasn’t good basketball,” PK Yonge head coach Willie Powers said of the first quarterback.

Luckily for the Blue Wave, it eventually found its bearings and went on to top the Rams 49-29, bringing PK Yonge to 10-1 on the season. Eastside fell to 6-10.

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Here are takeaways.

Banged up Blue Wave is making it work

PK Yonge’s bench is short.

The Blue Wave started the season with eight varsity players. However, with one injured, Powers called up a pair of junior varsity players to dress for Wednesday night’s cross-town tilt.

And despite many years of coaching experience, Powers is still learning how to manage his depleted bench.

“I’m still trying to figure it out as a coach,” Powers said. “How to manage it and do things a little bit differently.”

Having fewer players to rotate into the game means having to play less aggressive on defense.

Powers, who is known for fielding fast defenses that press the ball, had his team play much of the contest in a zone defense.

“Playing 30 minutes a game is never good, it doesn’t matter who you are or who you play. So we’re just trying to figure out how to keep them healthy and able to play at this pace,” Powers said. “Like we always talk about, we all we got.”

Ashlyn Young leads second- and third-quarter explosion

Considering the Blue Wave entered Wednesday’s matchup averaging 55 points per game, when the scoreboard showed just four at the conclusion of the first quarter, PK Yonge knew something had to give.

Within the first minute of the second quarter, the Blue Wave had doubled the number on its side of the scoreboard, scoring a quick four points en route to a 17-point second quarter.

Leading the way for PK Yonge was Young, who finished the night with 27 points, including a perfect, 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line.

“She does it all,” Powers said of Young. “I’m just trying to make sure I don’t wear her out before district time. She brings it all. She rebounds, she scores, she makes great passes and she’s a great teammate.”

Young Rams led by Kira Martin

After graduating their leading scorers in Sese Peeples and Karonda Kelly, the Rams have had to look elsewhere this season.

Eastside has found that production in sophomore Kira Martin, who currently leads the scoring efforts with 10.1 points per game.

Martin surpassed that against the Blue Wave, putting up a team-leading 12 points, eight coming during a scoring surge in the final frame.

Trailing Martin were Marshall and senior Kathleen Reid, who each chipped in four points.

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