Lady Dragons split with Central, Halls
The Clinton Lady Dragons earned a district road win at Knox Central on Tuesday night, taking it by a score of 41-29.
The Clinton offense sputtered early as the Lady Bobcats took an 8-6 lead in the first quarter.
Both teams shot the ball better in the second quarter. Kinley Martin dropped in eight points for Clinton and Abby Szabo had a basket to account for all of the Lady Dragons points in the quarter, still they trailed Central 18-16 at halftime.
Clinton’s outside shooting caught fire in the third quarter as Nikki Jones sank a trio of 3-pointers and Danyel Joy dropped in a pair of treys to propel the Lady Dragons into a 31-26 lead.
Martin scored six of Clinton’s 10 points down the stretch as the Lady Dragon’s defense held the Lady Bobcats to just three points.
“It was not a pretty game. It was an awful first half. In the second half they came out and looked like the Lady Dragons we’ve seen all year. We were more aggressive defensively and hit some big shots in the third quarter to get the lead,” said Alicia Phillips, head coach of the Lady Dragons.
Martin and Joy led all scorers with 14 points each.
Jones had 11 for Clinton.
CHS 6 10 15 10 41
KC 8 10 8 3 29
CHS — Kinley Martin (14), Danyel Joy (14), Nikki Jones (11), Abby Szabo (2)
KC — A. Blair (12), L. Hoffman (6), M. Webb (5), H. Wyrick (4), R. French (2)
The Lady Dragons dropped a squeaker to visiting Halls on Friday by a score of 45-43.
Neither team shot very well in the first quarter as the Lady Red Devils slipped out to a 6-2 lead.
The Lady Dragons came out on fire in the second half as Jones, Martin, and Joy led them to a 20-18 halftime lead.
The third quarter opened and closed much as the second quarter was played with both teams matching each other although Halls managed to trim the Clinton lead to a single point at 34-33.
The Lady Red Devils managed to outscore the Lady Dragons 12-9 in the fourth quarter as seven missed free throws by Clinton proved costly.
“We got in foul trouble in the first half but we went up by 10 but we got a little tired at the end of the second quarter with our subs and gave up eight points. At the end of the game we were in control. We took a few shots we shouldn’t have and we missed a ton of free throws so we pretty much gave them the game. However, I think it helps some of our girls grow up a little bit. You hate to lose but if you’re growing in the process it really helps, Phillips said.
Macy Kirby of Halls led all scorers with 20 points while Jones led the Lady Dragons with 18 points while Martin had 10 points.
The Lady Red Devils’ leading scorer Panda Riggs did not play while the Lady Dragons was without injured guard Amaya Whitt. On the positive side, Ally Evans returned to the lineup after missing the first part of the season due to health problems.
Halls 6 12 15 12 45
CHS 2 18 14 9 43
Halls — Macy Kirby (20), Michaela Allen (11), Cailin Weaver (6), Cassie Norris (6), Brook Cox (2)
CHS — Nikki Jones (18), Kinley Martin (10), Danyel Joy (5), Alayjah Whitt (4), Ally Evans (2), Abby Szabo (2), Cierra Bunch (1), Zia Blackburn (1)
The Lady Dragons picked up a non-district won over visiting South Doyle on Monday night by a score of 47-28.
Clinton opened on a 10-0 run as Martin converted on a traditional three-point play, Joy scored a basket, and Jones hit a 3-pointer.
After the Lady Cherokees made a free throw, Jones hit another 3-pointer. Evans and Kailee Taylor each scored to give the Lady Dragons a 15-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Clinton press forced South Doyle into numerous turnovers in the second quarter as Phillips shuttled multiple substitutions in and out of the game.
The Lady Dragons led 28-6 at halftime.
Alayjah Whitt and Cierra Bunch joined in the scoring in the third quarter as Clinton stretched its lead to 40-13.
The Lady Dragons kept a young lineup on the floor in the fourth quarter as the Lady Cherokees scored 15 points to make the final score 47-28.
“We really focused on the press because they [South Doyle] had a lot of size but not a lot of ball handlers. One of our main goals was to put pressure on their guards and turn them over. Another thing we focused on was offensive rebounds. It helps getting Ally [Evans] back and [Abby] Szabo has gotten stronger the last couple of games,” said Phillips.
Jones led all scorers with 18 points while Joy and Whitt each scored nine points.
The Lady Dragons return to action next week when they travel to Harriman for their holiday tournament.
SD 4 3 6 15 28
CHS 15 13 12 7 47
South Doyle — Isabella McAnally (15), Amyarra Billingsley (5), Maci Jones (4), Mikayla Dunn (2)
CHS — Nikki Jones (18), Danyel Joy (9) Alayjah Whitt (9), Kinley Martin (3), Cierra Bunch (3), Ally Evans (2), Kailee Taylor (2), Abby Szabo (1)