WBB: Lady Dragons shake off rust, Gary
basket during earlier season action. Bolton scored six points
Friday night to help the Lady Dragons defeat Gary, 46-31.
(Photo by John Krueger)
The Shelbyville Lady Dragons went on to the road Friday to open District 22-1A play with the only winning season record of any team in the league. But SHS head coach Michael Dewitz knew if his team didn't come out strong after a three-week layoff that it might be in trouble against Gary.
But the coach's concerns didn't last long as the Lady Dragons built an 11-point halftime lead as they went on to a 46-31 win over the Lady Bobcats in Bobcat Gymnasium.
The Lady Dragons (13-5) came out strong defensively, holding the Lady Bobcats (3-16) to seven first-quarter points, while scoring 13 on the offensive end to build a six-point lead at the end of the quarter.
Shelbyville continued to build on its lead in the second quarter, widening the gap to 23-12 at the half. The Lady Dragons then coasted in the final two periods, outscoring Gary 13-11 and 10-8 to take the 15-point victory.
Kiera Montgomery led all scorers in the game as the junior forward threw in 20 points. Senior Haleigh Cooper pitched in 12 points and senior Camory Bolton chipped in six points.
Jakera Land added four points for SHS, with Summer Williams and Kadeshia Turner each accounting for two points.
"We played well early and were able to build a lead, which was very important for us," Dewitz said later. "Not having played for several weeks and having our first game back from the holidays cancelled, I wasn't sure how we'd play. I told the team that we had to set the tone with our defense.
"We did that with Haleigh leading the way with her hustle. Kiera also did a great job on the offensive end as she got us going."
In other District 22-1A action on Friday, Garrison surprised Timpson at home, 37-24, and Tenaha grabbed a 37-28 victory at home against Beckville.
Tenaha (9-11), Shelbyville and Garrison (4-9) are now tied atop the 22-1A standings with 1-0 marks, while Beckville (8-12), Timpson (4-9) and Gary are sitting at 0-1.
In Tuesday's games, Beckville will host Timpson in another key game early in the league chase. Gary will travel to Tenaha and Shelbyville will be at home to host Garrison in a battle of unbeatens. The junior varsity will start at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity getting underway about 6:45 p.m.