Lady Dragons hampered by slow start against Karns
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Clinton High School’s Lanee Carmichael, another of the uber-talented Lady Dragon freshmen, moves the ball past a Karns defender Monday night. - Ken Leinart
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Clinton High School’s Josie Moody gets by a Karns defender during Monday night’s game at CHS. - Ken Leinart
A slow start spelled defeat for the Clinton High School girls basketball team Monday night.
The Lady Dragons scored just five points in the first quarter as they fell to Karns 74-59 on senior night at the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium.
The struggles began early for the Lady Dragons (13-11) as they fell behind the Lady Beavers 27-5 in the first quarter. Slow starts, both out of the gate and after halftime, have become a habit for Clinton of late.
“We have struggled in the first quarter,” Lady Dragons Coach Alicia Brown said. “If we don’t get down by 20, we win a ball game tonight.
“We missed 15 to 18 layups tonight, and a lot of those were uncontested. I give the girls credit for the fight that they showed, but we’re having a hard time getting started in the first quarter and after halftime.”
After falling behind early, the Lady Dragons stormed out with a vengeance and used a 22-4 run to pull to within four point at 31-27. The Lady Beavers bounced back a bit as they led 37-29 at halftime.
Karns (18-10) outscored the Lady Dragons 21-10 in the third stanza to take a 58-39 lead and pull away.
Allie York had a stellar performance for the Lady Dragons as she scored a game-high 27 points. Lanee Carmichael finished with 17.
Karns, as it has done all season, boasted a balanced and potent offensive attack.
Madison Perrin led the Lady Beavers as she scored 19 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out four assists and posted two steals.
Rylee Roberts had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Reece Roberts finished with a double-double as she posted 14 points and 10 rebounds. She also had five steals.
Lauren Martin had 12 points, while Abby Harris scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Upcoming games for the Lady Dragons:
• Clinton hosts Oak Ridge Thursday, and the Lady Dragons will honor their late assistant coach Craig Dixon.
• The Lady Dragons entertain Maryville Christian Saturday and close the regular season at home against Gatlinburg-Pittman.
CHS will also host the District 4-AAA Tournament.