Chuckey Doak’s Lady Knights traveled to Mosheim on Thursday evening hoping to snap a 12-game losing skid as they took on the West Greene Lady Buffaloes. The game was back and forth for the first quarter and a half, but the Lady Buffs eventually pulled away, earning their third consecutive win over the Knights, 65–43.
West Greene head coach Betsy Shaw praised her team’s 40% shooting performance and offensive execution after the victory.
“I thought we shot the ball well tonight,” Shaw said. “We got a lot of great looks as we moved the ball around, and that opened things up for a lot of people.”
West Greene took the opening tip and grabbed the early lead on a pair of free throws from Joie Shipley. Jayden Myers cut the lead in half with one of two free throws at the 7:12 mark. The remainder of the first quarter featured three ties and two lead changes before the Lady Buffs closed the period ahead, 16–14.
The second quarter opened with Myers scoring to tie the game at 16–16, but Shipley answered with a three-pointer to reclaim the lead for West Greene at 19–16. Back-to-back baskets from Cristen Bishop and Myers briefly gave Chuckey Doak a 20–19 advantage, but Erica Davis quickly swung momentum back to the Lady Buffs with a steal and coast-to-coast layup. West Greene took a 21–20 lead and never looked back.
Sophomore Payton Norton caught fire in the third quarter, scoring nine of her game-high 16 points as West Greene outscored Chuckey Doak 19–6 and extended the lead to 52–29.
“I felt like I was in a little bit of a slump,” Norton said. “To find my shot consecutively and see them fall felt really good.”
Both Shipley and Emily Justis added 12 points for the Lady Buffs, joining Norton in double figures. Chloe Kirkpatrick and Kori Hollifield led Chuckey Doak with eight points apiece.
According to both Shaw and Norton, the win provided a confidence boost as West Greene heads into the latter portion of its conference schedule, looking to gain ground in the District 1-AA standings.
