Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Lady Cardinals met rival McCreary Central last Friday
at Raider gym, in an important 48th District contest for both teams.
The Lady Cards entered with a 3-12 mark overall, that included a 1-2
district record and was coming off a disappointing 53-45 home loss to
Monticello.
The Lady Raiders owned a 1-2 district tally and 5-9 record overall.
Central had been off for two weeks, as their last outing was a 48-41 loss,
at Monticello.
The teams had met a month earlier with Wayne County claiming a 61-41
home win.
The Lady Cards rolled to a 42-21 halftime lead, pushed the margin to
59-25 after three periods and behind the game high 18 points of Tashea Pyles
cruised to a 65-36 road win. Pyles, a 5-10 sophomore forward, shot 6 of 9
from 3-point range, grabbed 4 rebounds with 2 steals in 28 minutes of
action.
"I really think our offensive spacing was much better, we passed the
ball well and shot the ball very well from 3-point range. We had really good
offensive balance with four players in double figures, so this was just a
good team effort. Tashea had a very solid game and has had two of her best
games against McCreary Central, we just need her to build on that type of
effort," said Lady Cards head coach Tim Pyles.
Junior guard Kayla Bowlin added 16 points, a game high 9 assists, plus
grabbed 5 steals, while Jessica Hardin posted 14 points with a team best 5
rebounds.
Bowlin shot 4 of 12 from the field and 6 of 10 from the free throw line,
while Hardin tallied on 6 of 13 field goal attempts and 1 of 2 free throws,
as Wayne County snapped a 4-game losing streak with the win.
"We needed a win, after a very tough couple of weeks. I really think our
district is up for grabs, but a team is going to have to execute and play
for four quarters. We did some good things in this game, I thought Kayla
distributed the ball well and Jessica was solid on both ends," said Pyles.
Sophomore Kourtney Criswell totaled a season best 10 points, with 3
boards and Hallie Gillespie contributed 7 points with 3 steals, as just five
Lady Cards scored in the win.
"Kourtney had a really good shooting night and as a team when we shoot
the ball well, everything else is easier. Our shooting night from three
really gave us some much needed intensity on the defensive end," said Pyles.
McCreary Central, which dropped to 5-10, was led by the 9 points and 4
rebounds of Candace Foster. Foster, a freshman forward, shot 4 of 5 from the
floor in 21 minutes, while fellow freshman Teisha Gibson finished with 8
points.
"McCreary Central has a very dangerous team and they have as much
experience as anyone, plus some very nice young players, Candace Foster is
one of the more talented freshman in our area," said Pyles.
Senior Kayla Morgan added 6 points with a game high 10 rebounds, as
McCreary Central claimed a 33-26 rebound advantage.
Tashea Pyles and Kourtney Criswell tallied 6 points each in the opening
quarter, as the hosts shot 4 of 7 from 3-point range, en route to pushing to
a 16-8 lead.
Jessica Hardin led all scorers with 10 points in the second stanza and
Wayne County made 10 of 18 field goal attempts, while using a 26-13 run to
take a 42-21 halftime advantage. McCreary Central was 7 of 25 from the field
in the half and was led by the 6 points each of Keisha Morgan and Candace
Foster.
Pyles added 3 more triples in the third frame and the Lady Cards put the
game out of reach with a 17-4 tilt, to push the score to 59-25.
McCreary Central battled back in the final eight minutes and used four
different scorers to take an 11-6 surge, which left the final score at
65-36.
"I was proud of our third quarter effort. We have not put people away
very often this season, so to do that when we had a chance on the road, is a
positive," said Pyles.
The Lady Raiders finished 12 of 34 from the field for 35 percent and
tallied on 4 of 15 3-pointers for 27 percent. Central connected on 8 of 12
free throws attempts for 67 percent and totaled 19 turnovers, which led to
17 Wayne County points.
The Lady Cards shot 22 of 52 overall for 42 percent, which included a 12
of 22 effort from 3-point range for 55 percent. The winners shot 9 of 19
from the charity-stripe for 47 percent and totaled 14 assists with 12
steals, against just 6 turnovers.
"Our free throw shooting has to improve. We need to make the most of our
scoring opportunities, so that must get better," said Pyles.
The squad has a very difficult and busy three game week that includes
home dates with Rockcastle County and Barren County on Tuesday and Saturday,
plus a trip to Pulaski County on Friday night.
"Rockcastle County is the favorite, or one of the favorites in the
region, Pulaski County is a much improved team and Barren County has one of
the top programs in the 4th Region. So we have another chance to get better
as a basketball team," said Pyles.
Details on the match ups in next week's edition of The Outlook.