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Lady Cardinals defeat Lincoln County 43-27 Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Lady Cardinals hosted Lincoln County last Friday night at Cardinal Gym in a match-up of two 1-0 teams. The Lady Cards were coming off a 58-40 win at Pulaski County a night earlier, while Lincoln County opened their season earlier in the week with a 61-42 home win over Pulaski County. Both teams entered as two of the favorites in the always tough 12th Region. Wayne County senior guard Kara Gothrup scored a game high 13 points, as the Lady Cards won every quarter, en route to claiming a 43-27 win. Gothrup finished 5 of 11 from the field and 2 of 5 from the free throw line, plus grabbed 8 rebounds with 4 assists, in just under 27 minutes of action. "Kara really stepped up her play and was much more assertive and aggressive with the basketball. I thought overall our defense was a big key in this game. We never let them get comfortable on offense and dominated the back boards," said Lady Cards head coach Tim Pyles. Sophomore Courtney Duncan added 12 points with 5 boards, as the Lady Cards claimed a 36-15 rebound advantage. Lindsey Dishman shot a perfect 8 of 8 from the charity-stripe to tally 8 points, while Meg Latham contributed 7 points and 8 rebounds, as five different Lady Cards scored in the win. "We have to get some more transition points and part of that could be my fault. We're trying to take such good care of the basketball and value each possession that we're not taking any chances and not converting off our defense, so hopefully that will improve," said Pyles. Lincoln County, which dropped to 1-1, was led by the duo of Sam Miller and Jennifer Jones. The duo combined to shoot just 5 of 17 from the field, but still paced the team with 6 points each. Seven different Lady Patriots scored in the contest. "Lincoln County is a very athletic team with seven seniors and a new coach in Coach Story, so I think they'll certainly be a team somebody has to beat come tournament time. Defensively we really wanted to make things tough and not let them get comfortable, cause they are capable of putting some points on the board," said Pyles. Defense dominated the opening quarter, as the teams combined to make a dismal 3 of 18 field goal attempts. The Lady Cards connected on 2 of 11 field goal attempts and owned a 7-3 first quarter lead. Senior guard Lindsey Dishman led all players with 6 points in the first half, as Wayne County used a 14-7 run to take a 21-10 halftime lead. The Lady Cards shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half, but held Lincoln County to a 4 of 25 effort for a paltry 16 percent. "We're gonna compete and win games with our defense and that was certainly a big key in this game," said Pyles. Courtney Duncan exploded for 10 points in the third stanza, as Wayne County used a 13-9 quarter edge to push to a 34-19 lead after 24 minutes. Three different Lady Cards scored in the final period, as the hosts made 5 of 7 free throws and claimed a 43-27 win. Lincoln County made 8 of 26 field goal attempts in the second half and could never stage a run. Heather Stearns finished with 3 points and 5 rebounds, while Latoyia Green offset a scoreless night with 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Nine different Lady Cards registered a minute of play or more in the win. Lincoln County shot 12 of 52 overall for 23 percent and misfired on all 7 3-point attempts. The Lady Pats made 3 of 8 free throws for 37 percent and totaled 10 steals with 3 assists against 21 turnovers. The Lady Cards shot 13 of 54 overall for 24 percent and tallied on 2 of 10 3-pointers for 20 percent. The squad made 15 of 24 free throws for 62 percent and totaled 8 steals with 6 assists against 15 turnovers. "This was a good win for our team. We have to go back to work and look to convert more on offense off our defense. It's early in the season, but we need to make the most of our scoring opportunities and get some easy buckets off transition," said Pyles. The Lady Cards travel to former district foe Russell County on Monday night and then host the hottest team in the 12th Region, McCreary Central, in an important district game on Thursday night. "Russell County is always a tough place to go play and after that we face a very good McCreary Central. I know they're playing very well at this point and already beat Rockcastle County, so we'll have to be at our best," said Pyles. Add a comment |
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