“She got real intense,” Lowry said. “She took that onto the court and left it all out there.”
The Raiders were playing their second game in as many nights after a pipe leakage in their Greenbelt gym forced them to postpone Friday’s matchup with N0. 10 Wise to Monday. After a59-49 loss to the Maryland 4A finalists, Simmons and the Raiders realized that they an opportunity in 24 hours to correct their mistakes. And they did.
For Simmons, that meant playing with more passion. She attacked the rim, chased down loose balls with a purpose and confidently tossed up jump shots. And early on, it was clear that she was locked in.
The Raiders (4-1, 4-1) built a 24-12 lead early in the third quarter with strong defense and shooting. By halftime, Simmons already had 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
“I just came with a different mindset,” said Simmons, who was the team’s leading scorer as a sophomore last season. “We came up short yesterday but not today.”
When Lowry, who was the Raiders’ leading scorer in their four games entering Tuesday, came out of the game with a foot injury, Simmons’s hot streak continued.
“That was a big piece of us because she’s usually carrying us around, taking the load for us,” Simmons said of Lowry. “Somebody had to pick it up.”
Suitland (4-2, 3-2) turned to its size advantage to make the game close in the second half. The Rams used a 13-0 run led by center Taleah Williams (16 points and eight rebounds), to take their first lead at 25-24 with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
After another Williams layup to start the fourth quarter, Simmons immediately followed it with a three-pointer to pull the Raiders ahead 34-28. After that, Eleanor Roosevelt’s defense and ball-handling, led by Simmons, carried the Raiders through to the end.
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