Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Lady Cardinals opened their season last Tuesday night
at Rockcastle County, in the opening game of a girls-boys doubleheader.
The Lady Cards were coming off pre-season scrimmage match-ups with
Whitley County and Monroe County, while the Lady Rockets entered ranked in
the top 20 in various polls across the state. Rockcastle County won all
three match-ups between the two schools last season, including a 62-41
decision last March at Pulaski County in the first round of the 12th Region
Tournament.
The homestanding Lady Rockets used the game high 21 points and 15
rebounds of Sarah Hammond to build a 33-15 halftime lead, en route to an
impressive 61-36 win. Hammond, a 6-1 junior forward and All-State candidate,
shot 8 of 11 from the field, plus converted on 5 of 6 free throws, in 25
minutes to pace three winners scoring in double figures.
"We knew Rockcastle County has an excellent team and they are ranked in
the top 20 for very good reason. They have excellent size in the post in
Hammond, plus nice guard and wing play, so they have all the ingredients to
be one of the best, if not best team in our region. We were able to do some
decent things, we didn't do enough good things consistently to have a chance
at beating such a high caliber opponent," said Lady Cards head coach Tim
Pyles.
Jackie Alexander added 11 points with 6 rebounds, while Angie Lawrence
netted 10 points, as the Lady Rockets shot 48 percent from the field in the
win.
"We have to do a better job of defending. I know Rockcastle presents
some match-up problems, but we have to play better on the defensive end.
They also killed us on the boards," said Pyles.
The Lady Rockets owned the backboards with a 36-20 edge, including a
15-7 tilt on the offensive glass. Rockcastle County made the most of the
extra opportunities, claiming a 23-3 second chance points advantage.
"We have to do a better job as a unit of boxing-out. They outscore us by
25 points and have a 20 point lead on second chance buckets, so obviously
that's an area we must address to become a good basketball team," said
Pyles.
Wayne County, which dropped to 0-1, was led by the 18 points of junior
guard Kayla Bowlin. Bowlin shot 8 of 19 from the field, with 2 3-pointers
and tallied 2 assists, in over 30 minutes of play.
"We need Kayla to run our offense and this year we're asking her to step
up her scoring. She had a nice scoring night and was able to take good care
of the basketball. We just want to make sure of our shot-selection, but
that's something that as a team we really struggled with," said Pyles.
Sophomore forward TaShea Pyles shot 3 of 6 from the field, with 2
3-pointers to tally 8 points, while the duo of Jessica Hardin and Samantha
Sexton contributed 3 points each. Hallie Gillespie posted 3 points with a
team best 4 rebounds and Taylor Alexander totaled 1 point, to round-out the
six Lady Cards in the scoring column.
"We are a very young and inexperienced basketball team, so we will have
some nights that we experience growing pains. Add to that we didn't shoot
the ball very well, or take great shots, so hopefully we can learn a lot
from this game," said Thompson.
Sarah Hammond opened 5 of 7 from the field and led all players with 12
points in the first quarter, as the Lady Rockets rolled to a 21-11 lead.
Rockcastle County made 4 of 4 free throws in the second stanza and held
the Lady Cards to just 1 of 12 shooting from field, to take a 12-4 period
run, while grabbing a 33-15 halftime lead.
"I thought we played pretty well early, but late in the first quarter we
had some bad shots and allowed them a pretty good run. I think that carried
over in the second period and we dug ourselves a pretty big hole," said
Pyles.
Kayla Bowlin matched her 9 points in the first frame with 9 points in
the third period, as Wayne County battled to a 12-12 draw, which left the
score 45-27, after 24 minutes.
Five different hosts scored in the final quarter and the Lady Rockets
used a 16-9 surge to cruise to a 61-36 win. TaShea Pyles scored all 8 of her
points in the final 8 minutes, as Wayne County tried to keep the score
respectable in the second half.
Rockcastle County finished 23 of 48 overall for 48 percent, which
included a 2 of 8 effort from 3-point range for 25 percent. The squad
connected on 13 of 18 free throws for 72 percent and finished with 11
turnovers.
Wayne County converted on 14 of 40 field goal attempts overall for 35
percent and that included a 5 of 13 effort from behind the arc for 39
percent.
The visitors tallied on 3 of 8 free throws for 38 percent. The visitors
tallied on 3 of 8 free throws for 38 percent and totaled 4 steals with 3
assists, against 16 turnovers.
"We can't get down, or feel discouraged, we just have to go back to the
gym and get back to work. Rockcastle County can make things rough on a lot
of people, so we just have to learn from our mistakes and get ready for
another quality opponent in Mercer County," said Pyles.
Up next for the Lady Cards was a Friday night home date with 12th Region
rival Mercer County.