The Greeneville girls basketball team used tough defense in the first half to get in front, and then got a pair of big offensive outings from its seniors on the way to a 63-43 win over Dobyns-Bennett on Monday night.
“I am so proud of our team,” Greeneville coach Annette Watts said. “They have worked so hard in practice on certain things and you are beginning to see that in the game. They were making some hard cuts, and figuring out the timing of those cuts and passes. We played much better off of each other today. I am so proud of this effort.”
Seniors Kyla Jobe and Abby Adkins each had had big nights for the Lady Greene Devils. Jobe led all scorers with 24 points, while Adkins had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
“Abby with 20 points and 11 boards, and was close to a triple double. When does a post player make passes like that? That was tremendous,” Watts said. “Then KJ came in here sick, and we didn’t know if she was going to be able to go. But not many people can guard her quickness and her ability to elevate. Getting her off of that point guard spot helps her scoring. If Julia (Woolsey) and Matea (Gray) can tag team that spot it opens up so much for us.”
Defense carried the Lady Greene Devils early in the contest as they only allowed 15 points in the first half to build a double-digit lead by halftime.
Jobe finished the first quarter with a pair of steals in a 24-second stretch that she turned into a short jumper and a layup that put Greeneville in front 12-7. Forcing turnovers and turning them into quick scoring opportunities helped the Lady Devils find their groove on offense in the first half.
“Defense is what we hang our hats on, and we have to be able to set the tone with our defense,” Watts said. “Creating those turnovers was huge in getting us going. It let us get the ball forward for some easy buckets, and our defense created some offense.”
Early in the second quarter Sally McReynolds came around a screen from Jadean Releford and nailed a triple for the Lady Indians that closed the gap to 14-10.
Greeneville’s defense did not allow another point for almost five minutes while the offense went on a 12-0 run to go in front 26-10.
The Lady Devils used good ball movement in the stretch with Matea Gray setting up Allison Hayes for a layup, Julia Woolsey setting up Adkins for a jumper from the block, and Jobe hitting Adkins cutting through the lane for a lay in.
Gray capped the run by taking a steal the distance. Jobe then ended the first half with a three-pointer that put Greeneville in front 28-15.
Dobyns-Bennett found more offensive success in the third quarter, but so did Greeneville as it stretched its lead out to 20 points.
The Lady Indians briefly closed the gap to 28-19 when Releford made a pair of free throws, but then Jobe and Adkins started to go to work for the Lady Devils.
Jobe scored 11 points in the period while relying on her trusty mid-range jumper to beat the Lady Indians’ defense when they cut off her drives. Adkins moved around the paint and put in six points in the period.
The third-quarter closed with Hayes taking in an inbound pass and launching a triple that gave Greeneville a 51-31 lead.
Greeneville’s scoring pace slowed down in the fourth quarter but after Adkins sank a jumper from the top of the key the Lady Devils held their biggest lead at 63-39. Dobyns-Bennett scored the final four points of the contest.
Carlee Cradic led Dobyns-Bennett with 14 points on Monday while Azzi Brown scored 10 points.
Julia Woolsey also had a strong showing on Monday for Greeneville with eight points, seven assists, three steals and three rebounds while playing all 32 minutes.
