ROGERSVILLE – Greeneville’s girls’ basketball team bounced back from a lopsided loss on Monday night with a runaway 54-27 win over District 2-3A counterpart Cherokee to get back into the win column on Tuesday night.
“I hate that poor Cherokee had to feel that revenge, because our girls knew we stunk it up last night. I’m not taking anything away from Morristown East, but I felt like Cherokee was in trouble if this bunch came out focused and I felt like we did,” Greeneville Head Coach Annette Watts said.
After back-to-back losses to Bearden and Morristown East by a combined 40 points, Coach Watts was not happy with how her team had performed recently. Tuesday’s win was the perfect opportunity to get back on track with an important slate of district games ahead.
The win over Cherokee helps them improve to 2-0 in District 2-3A and 8-9 overall.
A balanced scoring sheet saw three players enter double figures for the Lady Greene Devils. Kyla Jobe led the way with 12 while Maria Lyde and Matea Gray scored 11 each. All nine players touched the floor for Greeneville and the younger group gained valuable playing time against Cherokee’s starters late in the contest.
“We took it at them early on and I was able to get everybody in and play some kids that I’m going to count on next year,” Watts mentioned.
Addie Lawson was the game’s leading scorer though as she scored 21 of Cherokee’s 27 total points.
Greeneville wasted no time putting their foot on the gas and opened up with a 15-0 lead. Kyla Jobe began with a corner three and a baseline jumper. Her spark to begin the game set the pace for the Lady Devils. Coach Watts stated. “Kyla said we’re going and I love that at the end of the first quarter the team that was going on the floor she said ‘we need 20 more this quarter.’ I don’t know if they understood, but I understood what she was talking about. Keep your foot on the pedal, but Kyla certainly got us going.”
Maria Lyde sank both foul shots at the foul line. Abby Adkins landed a short jumper through the hoop and Julia Woolsey made two-straight transition layups before Matea Gray laid one off the glass in transition next. All five starters scored before Cherokee could put any points on the board.
Addie Lawson ended the Lady Chiefs’ scoring drought with a layup with 2:03 left in the first.
Greeneville ended the first quarter with a large 23-4 advantage.
The second quarter was more competitive with Greeneville narrowly outscoring Cherokee 10-9. Allison Hayes opened up the quarter with a three-point bucket. Abby Adkins did most of her scoring in the second and ended the period with five points.
Addie Lawson scored all but one of Cherokee’s points in the quarter and in the first half. Lawson had trouble getting shots off and getting shots to fall. She sank two mid-range jumpers and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the frame.
Greeneville led 33-13 at the halftime break.
The third quarter was full of three-pointers and started with one from Matea Gray. After five-straight points from Maria Lyde, Kyla Jobe sank a smooth pull-up three. Lawson made back-to-back threes for Cherokee before Gray ended the quarter just like she started it with another three-ball.
The Lady Devils’ lead grew to 51-21 after the third quarter.
The majority of Greeneville’s starters sat in the fourth and their bench preserved their 54-27 win.
Kyla Jobe scored 12 points to lead Greeneville while Matea Gray and Maria Lyde had 11 each. Addie Lawson led all scorers with a game-high 21 points.
Greeneville hosts Grainger on Friday night in an ever-important District 2-3A showdown. “Grainger is playing very well and they’ve got a tough point guard that can shoot the ball and does a lot of good things, and of course they are well coached,” Coach Watts left off with.
