WBB: Lady Dawgs pound San Augustine, 47-25
over the outstretched arms of a San Augustine defender Tuesday
night in Bulldog Gymnasium. (Photo by John Krueger)
CARTHAGE, Tx -- The Carthage Lady Bulldogs had a distinct size advantage over the San Augustine Lady Wolves Tuesday night. And when they decided to force the issue and pound the ball inside, the momentum blossomed for CHS and Carthage rolled to a 47-25 win here in Bulldog Gymnasium.
Lady Bulldog senior Emilee McLin did most of the damage in the first half as she scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the first two periods as Carthage built a 21-13 lead at the break. But that seemed to open up the running game for CHS as well as the Lady Dawgs did not allow any second-chance points for SAHS and Carthage forced 27 SASH turnovers, creating 38 points in the paint and 18 points in transition.
"The girls have been playing really well," said Carthage head coach Peggy Stapleton. "They've been kind of playing up and down and up and down, but they're starting to realize how to figure out how to put games away instead of letting teams come back on them.
"Three of our losses have been in overtime by 1 and two points, so they're learning how to put those games that were close away. Once they figure out where our scoring can come from and get a little focused, it takes them a minute to put it all together. But then we played all right tonight.
"Against man defense our inside game should be our strength, but we still struggle with it some because we're not executing our screen and rolls effectively. Now I'm seeing improvement."
McLin and Co. hit the boards hard, creating 10 second-chance points, and the pressure defense turned the 27 Lady Wolf turnovers directly into 12 points. Carthage had 15 turnovers, which San Augustine turned into eight points.
Once she got out on the fastbreak opportunities, Carthage's Chasity Traylor ran the floor, along with her teammates. Traylor scored eight points, with six of those coming in the final two periods. Tambra Mitchell added eight points, Salena Robinson threw in five and C.K. Williams and Quabreeshia Willie added two each.
Tiler Barnes led San Augustine with eight points.
Stapleton said when her team began taking advantage of the inside game and controlling the boards, they running game opened up as well.
"When (Traylor) is pushing (the ball) and she's got the girls out there running with her, we do well. I like to have the ball in her hands. She makes smart decisions out there. Tonight she had some girls running with her and were effective in our running game."
Seven first-quarter turnovers by San Augustine enabled the slow-starting Carthage squad to forge a 10-6 lead at the end of the opening period. All 10 of the Lady Dawgs' points came in the paint.
The defensive pressure of Carthage continued to be solid in the second period as the Lady Wolves committed seven more turnovers. Carthage began pounding the ball inside more, scoring 12 of its 14 points in the paint and grabbing a 21-13 lead at the break.
The Lady Bulldogs then opened the game up by allowing just one San Augustine field goal in the third quarter. Meanwhile, CHS scored the final 12 points of the stanza, scoring eight points off nine third-quarter San Augustine turnovers to blow the lead open to 35-15. Five different Carthage players scored in the quarter.
The teams battled almost even in the final period, but the outcome had long-since been decided. CHS continued to push the ball up the floor when possible, scoring four points in transition. But eight points scored inside the paint was too much for the Lady Wolves to overcome.
Carthage returns to action Thursday, taking on Sunnyvale in the opening round of the East Texas Shootout in Brownsboro at 12:30 p.m.