The Greeneville girls jumped on top of Volunteer early on Tuesday evening and never relented as they ran away to a 54-15 win.
“I feel like this is the first time we have been able to get a team down and know that there is blood in the water and stay after it,” Greeneville coach Annette Watts said. “That is big for us. I felt like Matea (Gray) and Julia (Wooley) really stepped up for us.”
The win sends Greeneville into the postseason with a perfect 8-0 record in District 2-3A play. The district tournament will begin next week at Volunteer with the Lady Devils as the top seed, but they have three regular season games left before that.
The Lady Greene Devils scored the first 11 points on Tuesday and the first six of those came off turnovers in a 30 second span. First Kyla Jobe used a steal to take possession and Julia Woolsey started the day with a jumper from the elbow. Next a Jobe took a steal the distance herself. Before the ball made it to half court Maria Lyde took it back from Volunteer and was fouled, scoring two free ones.
“I was really tickled with our defense, we didn’t give them anything easy,” Watts said. “Volunteer has always thrown over us because they are big, so we have to adjust and read the eyes of that passer to go get that steal. I thought Maria did a really good job of that tonight.”
Jobe dropped a pass back to Lyde for a trailing three, and then she fed Matea Gray from under the basket for a corner trey as the Lady Devils’ lead grew to 14-3. The first quarter closed with Greeneville leading 16-3.
The lead grew to 21-3 just over a minute into the second quarter when Jobe took the ball away on one end of the floor and sent a long pass ahead to Lyde for a lay in.
After Scarlett McClaran got the Lady Falcons on the board again Greeneville ended the first half on a 12-1 run. Those buckets came from six different Lady Devils while three different Greeneville players had an assist during the stretch.
Ball movement and spreading around the attack were keys to Greeneville’s success on Tuesday as they took a 33-6 lead into halftime.
“Volunteer plays the best zone of anybody around, and to be able to move the ball around and bust that was really important,” Watts said. “That is something we have had to learn and teach all year, and I was really tickled with that tonight.”
Volunteer found more success on offense in the third quarter and scored nine points in the period, but it still could not keep up with Greeneville’s scoring. Jobe nailed a triple from the right wing and followed with a jumper from the lane. The Lady Devils’ lead grew to 47-11 when Gray drove into the lane and kicked to Woolsey for a corner three.
From there seniors Jobe and Abby Adkins went to the bench for the rest of the night and the offensive pace slowed.
With one second left Lyde got a runner to fall and Greeneville went to the fourth quarter leading 52-15.
The clock ran continuously in the fourth quarter and both benches emptied. The only points in the period came from a pair of free throws from Woolsey.
Lyde led Greeneville with 15 points, five assists, four blocks and three rebounds. Woolsey had 12 points, four assists and four rebounds. Jobe had 11 points, eight assists, three rebounds and three steals while Gray had seven points, and three steals.
The regular season is winding down for the Lady Devils with three games left before the district tournament. Next up will be a meeting with Cocke County on Friday.
“We have to focus on defending good players and knowing where the shooters are on the floor. We have to talk on defense, and on offense we have to be free to shoot the ball. I want them catching and shooting,” Watts said.
