Lady Lions roar back
Madison Southern’s Nikki Jeck was thrown to the floor and Lewis County’s Emily Lykins was assessed an intentional foul. The senior stepped to the line and hit one of two attempts to give the Lady Eagles a 35-28 lead.
But, that play ultimately turned out to be the momentum shift the Lady Lions (5-2) needed to roar back for a 61-51 win Friday at the Madison Southern Holiday Classic.
“It’s all about momentum,” Southern’s Brittany Calhoun said. “They went on a 23-2 run after (the intentional foul). That may well have pumped them up.”
The center scored her 14th point to end a five-minute drought and to start a rally for Southern (4-6). She had eight points in an 11-point stretch that got the Lady Eagles back within five, 53-48.
But, Lewis County answered with an 8-3 run to finish the game. “Brittany had 20 points and 12 rebounds,” Southern coach Brian Cunigan said. “She kept us in the game, especially in the second half.”
The junior had 14 of her team-high 20 points in the second half.
Cunigan was also not pleased with his team’s inability to hit free throws, nine-of-14, after starting five-of-five.
Jeck, who finished with 17 points, struggled late at the line, missing two front ends of bonus attempts and the back ends the intentional and double bonus to finish seven-of-11.
The Lady Lions’ Trayla Liles came to life in the second half with 15 of her game-high 23 points.
Liles did her damage on attacking the basket and also had multiple offensive rebounds.
“We did a poor job of rebounding. We gave them too many second chance opportunities,” Cunigan said. “My hats off to them, they had 16-plus offensive boards and that’s just too
many.” No one else reached double figures in scoring for Southern as Kassie Damrell and Courtney Harold finished with five points each, while Tosha Boggs and Tish Wheeler finished with two points each.
Liles got support from Jessi Marth’s 16 points and Lykins 11 points. Kaycee Denton added seven points and Mollie Caskey had two points.
Southern finishes pool play at 1:30 p.m. today against Barbourville. The outcome of that game will determine when the Lady Eagles play later that evening.