WBB: Lady Bulldogs shut down Spring Hill
(40) as Martin looks for an outlet pass receiver. (Photo by John
Krueger)
CARTHAGE, Tx -- With their shots not falling, the Carthage Lady Bulldogs relied on their defense Friday night to force 37 turnovers and hold Spring Hill to just 28 points in a 35-28 victory as the Lady Dawgs took over sole possession of second place in the District 16-3A standings.
Carthage (17-11) began the night tied with Gilmer for the second spot, two games behind first-place Pittsburgh. But the Lady Pirates knocked off Gilmer, 53-32, pushing the Lady Bucs (8-10) back to third place with a 4-3 mark, one full game behind the Lady Bulldogs.
Spring Hill (6-19) dropped to 3-4 in the league and in fourth place in the district standings. Henderson (8-17) defeated Gladewater, (4-14), 57-48, as the Lady Lions improved to 2-5 in district and leaving the Lady Bears winless at 0-7.
Only two Carthage players managed double-figure scoring with C.K. Williams scored six of her team-high points in the third quarter. Emilee McLin added 12 points, with six of those coming in the final quarter. Tambra Mitchell scored six points for the Lady Bulldogs, with Salena Robinson dropping in four.
Madison Martin paced the Lady Panthers with 14 points.
Carthage won the game despite hitting just 6-of-17 (35.3%) from the line. Spring Hill was 8-of-11.
The Lady Bulldogs were forced into 21 turnovers in the contest.
The Lady Bulldogs took an early 8-3 lead at the 2:01 mark of the first period. Brooke Zeiling hit her only bucket for Spring Hill - a 3-pointer - with 59 seconds left in the quarter and the Lady Panthers trimmed the deficit to 8-7 after eight minutes.
Spring Hill took its first lead of the game, 11-10, with 6:02 left in the half on the second consecutive field goal by Martin.
The Lady Bulldogs missed all six free throws in the second quarter, which enabled Spring Hill to overcome eight turnovers and take a 17-14 into the locker room at the half.
Carthage continued to turn up the defensive pressure in the third quarter, forcing 10 Lady Panther turnovers as the Lady Bulldogs outscored Spring Hill 10-6 to regain the lead, 24-23, heading into the home stretch.
The CHS pressure defense caused havoc in the fourth quarter for Spring Hill, causing 13 Lady Panther turnovers while McLin poured in six points and Williams added three as Carthage outscored SHHS 11-5 to secure the win.
In District 16-3A games on Tuesday, Carthage hosts Pittsburgh, while Gladewater visits Gilmer and Henderson hosts Spring Hill.