The pick and roll is such an astoundingly simple play, yet it can be the foundation of a team’s offense and it can be virtually impossible to stop. Under head coach David Baker, the Lady Tigers use the pick and roll to get their offense going almost exclusively. Still, teams have trouble stopping it.
In Alcovy’s 60-51 win over Newton, the Lady Tigers got off to a slow start offensively, but once they fell behind they went to their go-to play, a Keidra Sears/Tierra Hodges pick and roll.
That’s such a fundamental move on the court. Those two work a lot on that. They train together in the offseason. It’s just something that when we have no execution on offense, our fast-break is not working we can always go back to it. It pays dividends. It’s so good to watch too, and it works for us. It paid off.
That it did. Early in the first quarter, Alcovy found itself trailing , and of course they went to that lethal combination of Sears and Hodges in the pick and roll.
Sears, Alcovy’s best ball handler and an incredible passer, will set up at the top of the key and Hodges will come speeding to set a screen for the point guard. Sears will usually dirbble a little and take and drive either left or right, as Hodges releases and roles to the basket. Sears will find her make the nice bounce pass and in goes the layup for Hodges.
What makes the combination so deadly for the two is their unique skill sets. Sears has good ball-handling skills and she’s lanky and quick with good court vision. Teams can’t double Hodges because that’ll leave Sears open to drive, where she’ll likely hit her go-to teardrop or pass to any of Alcovy’s other weapons, Ayanna Wimbush, Kiara Bagby, Aleziah Wilson or Arlana Barnes.
Hodges sets a really good screen and she releases at the right time, early enough so that there’s no defensive pressure and late enough that she actually sets a screen for Sears to come off of.
If teams decide to load up the paint, Hodges is also deadly from mid-range. She can turn the pick and roll into a pick and pop, and get two points just as easily as she would if she’d rolled to the basket.
The key to this pick and roll, other than Sears and Hodges chemistry, is the spacing on the floor.
With Wilson down low and either Babgy, Wimbush and/or Barnes all floating outside the perimeter, it keeps the defense from cheating and collapsing in the middle.
Per maxpreps.com, Sears is averaging five assists per game this season, and a lot of those assists come from that pick and roll action. Hodges is putting up a modest 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Screen. Release. Roll. Basket. Money in the bank for Alcovy.
