The Chuckey-Doak girls got a big confidence boost on Monday morning on day four of the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic when they took down South Greene 60-49, their first win over the Lady Rebels in 31 tries.
“This is a big win for our girls. Anytime you play a county team you want to win that game, and I think you saw that with how we played,” Chuckey-Doak coach Kyle Donahue said. “We can’t get too excited about a win in a Christmas tournament, but I hope it gives our girls confidence. I thought we played really smart today. We let our defense play into our offense, and that is when we are at our best.”
Monday marked the first time Chuckey-Doak has beaten South Greene since February 27, 2012 in the Region 1-AA Tournament semifinals. While the Lady Black Knights have two much more important tests against South Greene coming up in District 1-2A play Donahue is hopeful that Monday’s win proves to his girls that they can compete for the district title.
“It’s fantastic for these girls and they are excited about this win,” Donahue said. “We want to instill the confidence in them that anytime we go into a gym against anybody that we can play with them. It’s one thing to say it, but it’s another to do it.”
On offense Chuckey-Doak used a balanced effort that saw all five starters score nine or more points. Kennedy Brown led the scoring effort with 16 points, while Tralyn Southerland had 12 points and nine rebounds. Tavyn Southerland scored 11 points, Layla Fox had nine, and Saniah Atchison scored nine.
“One of the phrases we talk about is, the ball doesn’t care who scores it,” Donahue said. “We want to get the best shot for our team. We don’t have anyone that is going to score 40 a night, so we want to make sure we get the best shot. They did that today, that’s pretty awesome that all starters had nine or more.”
Monday’s early-morning action started with South Greene taking control first. A three-pointer by Samantha Birdwell put the Lady Rebels in front 5-4, and then a good post move by Ari Hoese pushed the advantage to 9-5. Kortnei Bailey scored seven points in the final 1:08 of the first period to allow South Grenee take a 16-11 lead into the second quarter.
The Lady Rebels’ lead grew to 21-13 when Paisley Brobeck dropped in a jumper from the top of the key, but Brown got Chuckey-Doak going on the trip the other way with a banked three-pointer.
Tavyn Southerland followed with corner trey, and then with 3:51 left in the first half Tralyn Southerland evened the score at 21-21 with a turnaround jumper from the left block.
Tralyn Southerland put Chuckey-Doak in front 23-22 when she ripped away a steal on the baseline and laid it off the glass. She then sank a triple on Chuckey-Doak’s next possession.
Neveah Davis broke up the Lady Knights’ run with a three-pointer from the corner after some good ball movement, but the first half ended with Tavyn Southerland beating the defense down the baseline for a lay in that sent Chuckey-Doak to halftime leading 31-25.
South Greene’s Bailey produced the first points of the second half, but then Tralyn Southerland, Atchison and Brown all scored in the paint as Chuckey-Doak’s lead grew to 38-27 in less than two minutes.
Bailey did her best to keep South Greene in the game with a pair of driving layups and a three-pointer, but Chuckey-Doak had an answer every time.
The third quarter ended with Brown scoring on a put back, and Atchison going down the baseline for a layup that put Chuckey-Doak in front 48-36.
The fourth quarter was played close to even on the scoreboard and South Greene was unable to challenge the lead. The Lady Rebels made it a 10-point game twice and Chuckey-Doak’s biggest lead was 59-45 after Tralyn Southerland made two free throws.
Bailey led all scorers on Monday with 25 points for the Lady Rebels.
Monday brought an end to the Ladies Classic for both teams. Chuckey-Doak will be back in action on Friday at home against North Greene. South Greene will not play again until January 9 at Grainger.
