Lady Cards win at Southwestern 57-24, to improve to 17-6 on the season

By SHANNON HUTCHINSON

Sports Writer

The Wayne County Lady Cardinals traveled to Southwestern last Tuesday night to play the second game of a boys-girls doubleheader. The Lady Cards entered the 12th Region match-up with a 16-6 record and coming off a 49-37 win at Bell County. The Lady Warriors entered with a 5-14 mark and were coming off a 45-41 loss at McCreary Central.

Senior guard Kenita Ball led a very balanced attack with a game high 10 points, as Wayne County rolled to an 18-4 early lead, en route to a commanding 57-24 road win. Ball converted on 5 of 8 free throws, plus contributed 3 assists, as nine different Lady Cards scored in the win.

"I thought everybody played their roles pretty well and we shot the ball pretty well early. We looked refreshed and I think having a day off allowed for some much needed rest. This was a good win to gain some momentum to take into practice the next week," said Lady Cards head coach Tim Pyles.

Junior forward Ashley Bell totaled a game high 11 rebounds with 6 steals and 9 points, while Sarah Wixson netted 8 points with 4 steals. Wayne County was once again sparked by fine play off the bench, led by the tandem of Courtney Duncan and Mandi Perkins.

Duncan scored 9 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while Perkins etched a season-high 8 points to go along with 2 boards, 2 steals, and 2 assists. The combo converted on 4 of 5 3-pointers, as the Lady Cards shot 40 percent as a team from behind the arc.

"I thought our bench play was solid again. Courtney came in and hit some big threes, which appeared to kind of relax us early and Mandi stepped in and made some plays. Anytime you get a real spark off the bench it’s a big plus," said Pyles.

The Lady Warriors, which dropped to 5-15, were plagued by 24 turnovers throughout the contest. The squad was limited to just 28 field goal attempts. Southwestern was led by the 8 points of guard Whitney Mink. Mink finished 3 of 9 from the field and 2 of 3 from the charity-stripe. Brittany Beshears added 5 points, as six different hosts scored in the game.

"Defensively we were able to do some good things, which led to some easy transition buckets," said Pyles.

Senior guard Natalie Brown netted all 6 of her points in the opening quarter, as Wayne County raced to an 18-4 lead. The Lady Cards were 6 of 14 from the field, while Southwestern countered with 2 of 6 shooting in the frame.

Kenita Ball tallied all 10 of her points in the first half, as the visitors used a 15-7 second quarter edge to take a 33-10 halftime lead. Six different Lady Cards scored in the half, while the Lady Warriors shot just 27 percent from the field in the first 16-minutes.

"We got off to a good start and I really think a lot of that was due to having our legs back. We played six games in under two weeks,with the last four of those being on the road, so I think we were fatigued by the end of last week," said Pyles.

The teams played on near-even terms in the third stanza, as Wayne County connected on just 3 of 16 shots from the field, but claimed a 10-8 tilt to push to a 43-18 lead. The Lady Warriors made 3 of 7 field goal attempts and were paced by the 5 points of Whitney Mink.

Senior reserve Lindsey Jones led six different Lady Cards in the scoring column in the final frame with 3 points, as the visitors finished the game on a 14-6 spurt to take the 57-24 win. The winners shot 30 percent in the second half, while Southwestern converted on 37 percent of their attempts.

Wayne County, now 17-6 on the season, shot 19 of 57 overall for 33 percent and connected on 8 of 20 3-pointers for 40 percent. The squad tallied on 11 of 15 free throws for 73 percent and claimed 26 rebounds, 17 steals, with 8 assists. The Lady Cards finished with 7 turnovers, a stat not lost with the coach.

"That’s an area we’re trying to work on and 7 turnovers is a number we would take every night. To be the best basketball team we can be we must take good care of the basketball," said Pyles.

The Lady Warriors shot 9 of 28 overall for 32 percent and made 2 of 7 3-pointers for 29 percent. The squad tallied on 4 of 10 free throws for 40 percent.

The Lady Cards are off the rest of the week, before hosting Somerset on Tuesday night at Cardinal Gym.

"We get to rest a day or two and then go back to work in practice. We have some things we need to polish-up with the extra gym time. After that we’ll prepare for Somerset," said Pyles.

Details on that game in next week’s Outlook.

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