Thrust into spotlight as a sophomore, Sanaii McPherson steps up for Larkin. But first? ‘I’m the charge queen.’

Coming into her second varsity season, Larkin’s Sanaii McPherson knew she was going to have to step up after the graduation of Baylei Johnson.

Johnson dominated the post for the Royals the past few seasons. One of the players benefiting the most from the increase in floor space has been McPherson.

“It gave me more scoring opportunities and plays into my leadership role,” McPherson said. “Just being more impactful on the court and making sure we get everybody else involved.”

The sophomore guard/forward, who is averaging a double-double, has turned into a leader for the Royals. She also had one of her biggest games of the season Monday night at Bartlett.

McPherson guided Larkin to a 51-50 Upstate Eight Conference victory, hitting the winning free throw with 18 seconds to play. She scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Royals.

Gabby Ploche added 10 points for Larkin (17-12, 11-6). Courtny Bridgeforth and Amadea Montijo scored 13 points apiece to pace Bartlett (14-16, 10-7).

Larkin coach Stephen Knapp has been impressed with how well McPherson has progressed this season.

“She’s made significant strides, not just physically but mentally as well,” Knapp said of McPherson. “Losing Baylei has opened up the inside for her.

“We have a lot of plays designed for her around the rim, and she’s doing a great job.”

Although the 5-foot-8 McPherson isn’t the intimidating presence the 6-2 Johnson was, Knapp said she’s one of the strongest players in the conference.

“The fact she’s left-handed and can finish with her right makes her even better,” Knapp said. “On the defensive side, we have her guard one through five. She’s good enough to guard them all.”

That physical play has had its drawbacks for McPherson, however. One of the things she’s still trying to improve upon is her body control.

“I’m the charge queen,” McPherson said. “I run people over. I’m learning to pull up and learn my surroundings. It’s an advantage, but it can be a disadvantage.

“It could not even be a charge and they’ll call a charge. I need to move around more and not go in so strong like I was taught when I was younger.”

Count Bartlett coach Tanner Gardon among those impressed McPherson’s improvement

“She’s a really good player,” Gardon said. “It’s scary that she’s only a sophomore. You could see it last year. She uses her size really well. She knows what she’s doing. She’s a tough matchup.

“She’s just going to continue to get better. It’s good for them she’s a sophomore, but it stinks for us.”

Larkin took a 21-11 lead in the second quarter, but Bartlett responded with a 10-0 run, turning the game into a back-and-forth affair the rest of the way.

Back-to-back layups from McPherson gave the Royals a 47-41 lead in the fourth.

Bartlett battled back again, with 3-pointers from Emily Linkevich and Montijo forcing a 50-50 tie with 50 seconds left. McPherson only went 1 of 4 in her two trips to the line in the final seconds.

But it was enough for Larkin to hang on.

“It’s easy when you come off a loss like that to be negative,” Gardon said. “We played a really solid game. Some girls hit some big shots. We tightened up on defense. We got better.

“It’s not the result that we want, but we got better, and that’s just what we need to keep doing.”

Larkin had four sophomores on the court at the end of the game, so McPherson said there are lessons to be learned.

“I feel like we got a little scared at the end, not as poised as we needed to be, knowing we were up,” McPherson said. “We just had to calm down, be poised and play our game.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.