The West Greene girls got the season started the right way on Tuesday evening as they put four players in double figures in a 65-37 win over Claiborne.
“It’s a good way to start the year. A bunch of girls did good things in different ways,” West Geene coach Betsy Shaw said. “We got to run some things that we have been working on, and they executed them. I thought we gave a great team effort tonight. It’s great to have a good start like this.”
Senior Morgan Brown led the way with 21 points on Tuesday while also being the Lady Buffaloes’ most effective defender and distributor of the basketball.
“That was great from Morgan, she does it all and she does whatever we ask of her,” Shaw said. “It’s great to see her start the season this well, especially from a scoring standpoint.”
Emily Justis added 14 points, Joie Shipley had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Payton Norton scored 10 points.
Justis got the night’s scoring started with a runner from the right side of the lane. Then seven points in a little over two minutes from Norton put the Lady Buffaloes in front 15-3.
The first quarter finished with West Greene leading 15-4.
Brown started to get warmed up in the second quarter and scored 10 straight points for the Lady Buffs. She was fouled going the rack just six seconds into the period and made both free throws. Next she took a handoff from Madison Wagner and finished at the rim, and then she knocked down a pair of three pointers for a 25-4 advantage.
An offensive rebound by Shipley gave Norton the opportunity to hit from behind the arc for a 32-7 lead, and West Greene went to halftime leading 35-9.
The Lady Buffaloes’ defense allowed just three field goals in the first half, and much of that was due to Shipley’s ability to block and alter shots in the paint.
“It’s great to have that tall presence in the post,” Shaw said. “Just to have somebody in there that can effect the drive and make them do something different is a big deal.”
In the second half Claiborne found more success but the game was always in control of the Lady Buffaloes.
The Lady Bulldogs closed the gap to 43-21 when Rhea Ware knocked down a three-pointer, but West Greene ended the third quarter on a 11-2 run.
Justis started things by coming around a screen set by Shipley and draining a triple. Brown followed by banking in a triple, and then Justis found an opening on the right wing at the buzzer for another three-pointer that put West Greene on top 54-23.
In the fourth quarter the Lady Buffaloes sent Claiborne to the free throw line six times and the Lady Bulldogs went 9-of-11 on those trips. That allowed Caliborne to close the gap to 65-37 at the final horn.
BOYS
West Greene 56, Claiborne 22
The West Greene boys got the job done with defense on Tuesday night and started the season with a 56-22 win over Claiborne.
The Buffaloes held Claiborne to single digit scoring in three of the four quarters on Tuesday, and that included a shutout in the third period. Then in the fourth quarter they allowed only one field goal.
“Tonight went pretty good. We aren’t where we want to be, but we put together two really good quarters, the first and third,” West Greene coach Allen Tolliver said. “We came out and held them scoreless in the third quarter. That’s hard to do against anybody. We played team ball tonight. I’m really proud of the effort, intensity and energy.”
It was the offense of Braden McCamy that got the Buffaloes started on Tuesday as he nailed a trio of triples in the first 2:22 to give West Greene a quick 11-2 lead.
“That start was huge. I look back at our first game last year, they pressed us and we threw the ball everywhere and fell behind. Tonight we took care of it, and that allowed us to build a lead,” Tolliver said. “The leap from last year to this year has been impressive, and it’s got me excited.”
Next it was Conner Campbell who got going with a transition layup set up by Sam Wisecarver. Campbell followed with another layup and a runner from the baseline to give West Greene a 21-5 lead at the close of the first quarter.
Much of West Green’s early defensive dominance could be attributed to the paint protection provided by Ayden Lamons, but when he went to the bench with two fouls in the second quarter the Bulldogs found more room to maneuver.
The teams traded buckets through the early portion of the period with Kristopher Ford putting in five points for Claiborne.
Campbell got West Greene going when Elijah Williams found him in front of the press for a layup. Wisecarver turned a steal into a layup and then tricked the defense with a pump fake on a mid-range jumper.
West Greene led 31-15 at halftime.
The third quarter was all West Greene as the Buffaloes outscored Claiborne 20-0 in the period. A steal by Campbell set up McCamey for the first points of the frame.
Campbell got to the rim twice while Wisecarver and McCamey both hit from long range. Lamons scored four points in the quarter as West Greene’s lead grew to 51-15.
Over the final 10 minutes Tolliver sent his reserves onto the floor and while scoring slowed down the group gained some valuable varsity experience.
“That was really important. I think the speed of the game opened some of their eyes,” Tolliver said. “A couple of them played a lot of JV minutes, and they needed to see that adjustment to varsity. But I’m excited to see what some of these guys can do.”
McCamey led all scorers with 16 points and Campbell put in 14 points. In total eight out of the 10 players West Greene dressed on Tuesday scored.
