After slogging through the first half the North Greene girls began to figure out how to find the bottom of the net in the third quarter on Friday night, and they started the new year with a 48-39 win at Chuckey-Doak.
“The first half was super sloppy. It was two pretty good defensive teams playing physical, and baskets were hard to come by,” North Greene coach James Buchanan said. “In the second half we got off to a good start and we made a few baskets that seemed to settle things down. I’m pleased with the win, anytime you can get a win on the road in Greene County I feel like you’ve done something.”
North Greene went into halftime trailing 15-14, but the Lady Huskies more than doubled their scoring output in the third quarter by pouring in 18 points.
“We challenged our group at halftime to get the plays we wanted. They were dictating everything in the first half,” Buchanan said. “They were putting so much pressure on us and denying the entry pass. They eliminated half of our playbook just by being physical, and it can’t be that way. The challenge at halftime was to be tougher, and even though we had a few turnovers we were able to run more of what we wanted in the second half.”
Loren Blevins got things started by finishing a patient possession with a three-pointer from the left wing. A double screen opened up Ella Head for a triple from the top of the key, and then Hannah Miller passed out of a double team in the paint to Blevins for a corner three that put the Lady Huskies in front 23-18.
Miller was the focus of Chuckey-Doak’s defensive attention on Friday with Tralyn Southerland stuck on her hip most of the night and a second defender never too far away. While that made it hard for Miller to score, her passing made a difference in the second half as she created numerous opportunities for her teammates.
“They doubled Hannah every time she touched it, so we told the girls to be ready to shoot and that she is going to find you,” Buchanan said. “It seemed like they all made big threes at some point because of that double team on Hannah.”
A midcourt steal by Saniah Atchison led to a breakaway layup that allowed Chuckey-Doak to close the gap to 23-22 with 2:47 left in the third quarter. Then Jayden Myer sank a runner from the lane that cut North Greene’s lead to 25-24.
Head got the Lady Huskies going again with a triple set up by Miller. Blevins immediately jumped a pass as the Lady Knights were coming up the floor and she set up Mercy Buchanan for a lay in. North Greene’s lead reach 32-24 after a steal by Josie Graham led to two free throws by Buchanan.
Chuckey-Doak’s Tavyn Southerland finished the period with a full-court layup, but Noth Greene led 32-26.
With 4:14 left to play Atchison took advantage of a turnover and sank a three-pointer to close the gap to 34-33.
On the trip to the other end Kaydence Marshall answered by connecting from deep for the Lady Huskies. Layups by Miller and Graham followed to give North Greene a cushion at 41-35.
Over the final minute North Greene went 6-of-8 at the foul line and defensively they kept Chuckey-Doak in front of them to secure the 48-39 win.
Points were hard to come by in Friday’s first half and both defenses got the best of their counterparts. Chuckey-Doak took the first lead at 5-0, and it took North Greene over four minutes to score. Then in a 1:33 stretch Marhsall, Buchanan and Blevins all hit from beyond the arc for a 9-5 lead.
The quarter closed with Tralyn Southerland putting back a miss just before the horn to close the gap to 9-7.
With 5:40 left in the first half Southerland side-stepped a defender at the top of the key and drained a trey to give the Lady Black Knights an 11-10 advantage. That margin held until halftime as Chuckey-Doak went to the break leading 15-14.
Head led North Greene on Friday with 12 points and Blevins scored 11. Atchison scored 11 points for Chuckey-Doak, Tavyn Southerland had nine and Tralyn Southerland eight.
