ELIZABETHTON – South Greene finally got back on the court after a week off and didn’t show any signs of rust, leaving Elizabethton with a 56-38 win over Happy Valley on Thursday night.
“It just feels good to get back in the gym after last time we played. I felt like we came out with a lot of energy early,” Lady Rebels Head Coach Stephen Gregg mentioned.
The last outing for the Lady Rebels was a rough one. Unicoi County spoiled South Greene’s undefeated conference record and sent them back to Greene County with a 61-32 loss. The Lady Rebels hit the road again and wound up in familiar territory in Carter County and carried out business as usual at Happy Valley.
Happy Valley upset current No. 2 seed Johnson County, 61-46, last Friday and Coach Gregg knew that it would be a different team than what they faced the first time around. His key to preparing for that was to take it to them first and not let them control the game in their home gym. “Just trying to motivate my girls to get out and press the envelope early and I felt like we were doing a good job of that,” Gregg said.
The Lady Rebels jumped ahead early and never trailed and led wire-to-wire for another important District 1-2A win. The win helps South Greene stay atop the standings in sole first place with a 6-1 record. Their overall record improved to 14-9.
Kortnei Bailey led the way again with a game-high 17 points to lead South Greene to victory. Seven different Lady Rebels scored in the win.
Bailey led South Greene in scoring and led them to a layup on the first possession of the game to put the game in motion. Neveah Davis drained a three-pointer for South Greene next. Davis and Bailey scored two more and helped South Greene move out to a 9-2 lead. The lead grew to 13-2 before Happy Valley closed the quarter on a 6-3 run. South Greene led 16-8 after one.
Samantha Birdwell and Reagan Arrowood joined the scoring with two each and extended the lead to 24-12. Arrowood sank a three-pointer next and accounted for one of South Greene’s only two triples on the night. Madison Fillers scored a layup with 13 seconds left to create a 31-16 advantage at halftime.
The Lady Rebels came out red hot in the second half and started on a 14-2 run. Kortnei Bailey’s two layups got it started and Ari Hoese followed with a two-point jumper. Paisley Brobeck grabbed a miss and put it back off the glass for two. Hoese ended the run with a mid-range bucket. Happy Valley ended the third on another run just like at the end of the second and scored six-straight. South Greene still held a commanding 45-24 lead going into the fourth.
Happy Valley bridged their run from the third to the fourth and scored five-straight to open the fourth and ended it at an 11-point run. Bailey ended their run with a steal at halfcourt and an and-one at the bucket.
The Lady Rebels coasted to the finish line and left Happy Valley with a 56-38 win over the Lady Warriors.
Kortnei Bailey led them with a game-high 17 points. Seven different players scored for South Greene. Amila Riddick led Happy Valley with 14 points.
The Lady Rebels are currently scheduled to play Chuckey-Doak next on Tuesday in Lower Afton.
