By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – It had been 12 days since the last the basketball game the Cherokee County Lady Warriors had played.
For some teams, there would be a bit of rust to shake from such a layoff, but the Lady Warriors didn’t have much at all against Ider on Monday evening.
In fact, their performance was described by head coach Richard Barton as one of the Lady Warriors’ best games so far this season.
Mary Hayes Johnson led three Lady Warriors in double figures with 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in a 72-36 rout to improve to 5-1.
“One of the biggest things for us was we hit it hard when they finished volleyball,” Barton said. “I think a lot of them had an opportunity over the past few days with not having games to get their legs under them.
“It’s probably one of the better games I’ve seen them play since we’ve been here. I think it’s been coming. We went to Geraldine and played those few (tournament) games and we were kind of not ourselves, a little rusty. We’ve been working into shape, and that’s what I’ve been on them about. We’ve got to be in shape to be able to play the way we want to play. We were definitely the team in the best shape tonight. I think that went a long way for us to be able to play the way we want to play.”
That style of play includes scoring in transition. The Lady Warriors had numerous steals which led to fast breaks which turned the game into a blowout.
Cherokee County jumped out on a 19-2 first quarter run and led 22-8 after one. The Lady Warriors maintained a 28-15 advantage at halftime, then went on a 9-0 run to begin the third and cruised to a 50-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“That’s the way we’re built and the way we want to play,” Barton said of the Lady Warriors’ transition game. “We haven’t really been taking advantage of that in the first few games we’ve played. That’s been a point of emphasis. Our defense hasn’t been where we want it, but I thought tonight they did a better job of good team defense. They were stepping up and helping each other. When you put all those things together, you put 70 up on the scoreboard.”
Nevaeh Gaidurgis added 18 points for the Lady Warriors. Audrey Haygood netted 15 points. Deannia Starr and Ava Haygood finished with nine and six points respectively.
“We got contribution from everybody, including our bench,” Barton said. “Everybody was able to go in. There really wasn’t much drop off. We hit some shots tonight and that makes a difference.”
Cambree Chapman topped Ider with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. KK Wilborn contributed nine points, including a pair of treys. Brynley Traylor tallied eight points, also with a pair of 3-pointers.
