By MICHAEL CHILDERS, CJ Correspondent
Somerset — The Southwestern Lady Warriors avoided a four-game losing skid with a 64-38 win over district foe McCreary Central on Tuesday night at The Wigwam.
Despite being known as an offensive bunch, the Lady Warriors used defense to prevail in this one. The Southwestern defense had 11 total steals, with six of them coming from Danay Fothergill.
The first half featured both squads going back and forth with three ties and five lead changes.
The Lady Raiders raced out to a 5-0 lead with a Chelsea Smith basket and a Candace Foster trey.
Southwestern then went on a 7-0 spurt to regain the lead. A Jessica Pierce put back and an “old-fashioned” three-point play knotted the contest back up at five apiece. Another Pierce basket gave Southwestern their first lead of the night at 7-5.
Foster and Lindsey Vanover each netted a basket to put McCreary back out front 11-7.
Destiny Molden hit a three-pointer at the end of the quarter to cut the Lady Raider margin to one at 13-12.
The Lady Warriors went on a 7-0 run in the second stanza to take a 20-16 lead. Pierce netted two baskets while Fothergill chipped in with a basket. Thanks to Foster and Smith, the Lady Raiders notched the game up at 20-20. Emily Walker nailed a trifecta to give the Lady Warriors a 23-20 advantage at the intermission.
“I thought the first half was real lackluster,” said Lady Warrior head coach Tim Rice after watching his club move to 15-9 on the year. “We didn’t do very much, we just walked around, but we stayed in the game. I don’t know if it was because we hadn’t played in a while or school being it.”
The Lady Warriors got the ball rolling in the third, outscoring McCreary 21 to 8.
Fothergill tallied nine points and had five of her eight total assists in the quarter. Walker pulled down five crucial rebounds, as well.
Back-to-back baskets from Pierce gave Southwestern a 28-20 lead to open up the period.
With a 31-24 lead, the Lady Warriors went on an 8-0 run to widen the gap. Two Fothergill free-throws and a lay-up, a Walker lay-up, and a Pierce basket were apart of the run.
“After halftime, I thought we stepped up,” exclaimed the Southwestern coach. “Emily Walker played with a lot of energy in the second half. She did a great job of showing leadership, did well on the boards, and hit some big shots for us.”
Southwestern held a 44-28 lead over the Lady Raiders heading into the final quarter of play.
Adison Corder netted a three at the beginning to open the fourth, giving the Lady Warriors a 47-30 lead.
Walker hit two more three’s in the quarter to further the Lady Warrior lead.
The Lady Warriors won by a final of 64-38, a twenty-six point victory over the Lady Raiders.
Candace Foster led the way for the Lady Raiders with 15 points.
The leading scorer for Southwestern was Danay Fothergill, who finished with 24 points, eight assists, and six steals. Emily Walker chipped in with 11 points, nailing four three’s. She also pulled down eight rebounds. With the three-point ball not dropping, Southwestern went down-low to Jessica Pierce to get some much-needed offense. Pierce had 17 points and seven rebounds.
“When Jessica (Pierce) gets her mind ready to play, she’s hard to handle,” said Rice of Pierce. “She has improved so much; she just needs to get a little more consistent.”
The Lady Warriors struggled from behind the arc, going 7 of 24 or 29 percent.
“That makes two or three night’s in-a-row that we’ve not shot the ball well,” stated Rice.
Meanwhile, Rice’s club went 16 of 26 or 61 percent from inside the three-point line.
The Lady Warriors outscored the Lady Raiders 192 to 112 in their three meetings this season.
Rice and company will venture to Wayne County tomorrow night to face the Lady Cardinals for the top seed in the 48th District. In their last meeting at The Wigwam, the Lady Warriors were defeated 52-49 by the Lady Cardinals. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., in the opening game of a girl-boy doubleheader.
MC 13 07 08 10 - 38
SW 12 11 21 20 - 64
McCreary: Foster 15, Smith 8, Hodge 4, Morgan 4, Vanover 3, Richardson 2, Stephens 2
SW: Fothergill 24, Pierce 17, Walker 11, Corder 5, Molden 3, Grant 2, Upchurch 2
