Without one of their top scorers on the floor Greeneville struggled to get anything going on the offensive end of the floor on Monday and fell to Knoxville Catholic 50-34 in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic.
“I felt like a lot of our young girls stepped up today and did some good things, but ultimately without Maria (Lyde) out there we were a little outmatched,” Greeneville assistant coach Zak Holt said. “I think we learned that we need to take practice more seriously because your number can be called at any moment. But we had to take out a lot of our playbook, and then we moved kids and had girls were playing out of position. We were doing a lot things we haven’t worked on a lot this year, and we had continuity problems on offense.”
Sophomore forward Maria Lyde sat out Monday’s action nursing an injury and without her the Lady Devils’ offense struggled to find room to maneuver against a tough Catholic squad. Abby Adkins did manage to accumulate a double-double for the Lady Devils with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Julia Woolsey set a career scoring mark with 11 points.
Amaya Redd led the charge for the Lady Irish as she scored Catholic’s first nine points on the way to a 9-2 lead. Adkins broke up the run with a pair of buckets for Greeneville, but Redd finished the opening period by getting through the lane with eight seconds on the clock for a 14-6 Lady Irish lead.
In the second quarter Catholic stretched its lead with perimeter shooting. Maggie Frana sank a pair of three-pointers while Redd connected on a straight-away trey that pushed the lead to 25-12.
Kyla Jobe was able to twice find Adkins for points in the paint, but Catholic’s tight defense proved tough to work around.
Catholic got one more three-pointer from Ariana Swain and stretched the lead to 29-16 at halftime.
Jobe started the second half by spinning around Redd for a lay in and she followed with a half-court pass to Woolsey for a transition layup that closed the gap to 29-20. Greeneville never got any closer, and did not make another field goal for 11:32 of game time.
Camara Minefield slashed through the lane for Catholic and then took a steal coast-to-coast to start 11-1 Lady Irish run. Khloe Cook followed with a three-pointer and Catholic went to the fourth quarter leading 40-22.
Catholic’s biggest lead was 22 points at 46-24 after Redd scored from the block.
Greeneville finished the day on a 10-4 run. Woolsey sank a triple in the closing stretch while Matea Gray scored four points in transition after a steal of her own, and one by Gabby Atchison.
Redd led Catholic with 21 points.
Greeneville is eliminated from the Ladies Classic, but will be back in action on Friday at home against Dobyns-Bennett.
RIVERSIDE, SC 81, WEST GREENE 22
The West Greene girls could not keep up with a talented Riverside, South Carolina team on Monday in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic, falling 81-22.
The Lady Warriors held a 12-0 lead before West Greene got off a shot on Monday as the quick hands of Madison Garrido resulted in a handful of turnovers while Sophia Powell scored 10 points in the first 2:50 of action.
Morgan Brown finally got West Greene on the board with a runner from the right side, but it took nearly five minutes for that shot to fall. Riverside led 22-5 at the close of the first quarter.
Riverside scored the first 15 points of the second quarter with Marley Mangum sinking a pair of three-pointers while Maddie Bache put back a pair of offensive rebounds.
West Greene went on a brief 8-0 run in which Brown, Payton Norton, Madison Wagner and Mallorie Lawson all scored, but the Lady Warriors went to halftime leading 42-13.
Riverside’s interior duo of Powell and Elly Trickett combined for 13 points in the early portion of the third quarter as the advantage grew to 61-16.
Katelyn Begines knocked down a three-pointer for West Greene, but then Riverside scored the final nine points of the third quarter to take a 72-20 lead.
With the clock running in the fourth quarter Riverside took its biggest lead at 81-20, but Brown finished the day’s scoring with a layup on an inbound play.
Brown and Begines each scored six points for West Greene. Mangum, Powell and Trickett all scored 15 points for Riverside.
The Lady Buffaloes time in the Ladies Classic comes to an end, but they will be back in action on Friday at Unaka.
