The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Sports Wednesday, December 18, 2019 B- 3 Lady Chargers JV earns a pair of wins By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central girls' ju- nior varsity basketball team picked up a pair of wins this past week. The Lady Chargers de- feated Evansville Bosse, 45 -39, on Saturday, Dec. 14. "Free throws and defense was incredible and was also the main factor in this win against Bosse," Pike Cen- tral JV coach Eric Knight said. "Kahle Young and Lib- erty Taylor were lights out from the free throw line. We changed up the offense just a little so it would give us better driving opportunities to the rim. In doing so, the girls attacked the rim and let them get to the foul line." Pike Central was 24-of- 33 from the charity stripe, with Taylor knocking down 12 and Young hitting 11. "As the coach, I am very proud of them numbers," Knight said. "The first half we were a little slow start- ing out, but that is typical on Saturday morning games. When the second half start- ed, the girls really picked it up defensively and intensi- ty wise." Pike Central trailed by 10 points at halftime and by seven through the first three quarters, but the Lady Char- gers scored 17 points in the fourth quarter while hold- ing the Lady Bulldogs to just one made shot from the field. "I am very proud of the way this group of girls nev- er gives up and never quits fighting," Knight said. "We have two more games be- fore Christmas break. Once we get past that, I am hop- ing that Chloe Williams is available full time and Kee- na Young is back from her ankle injury. This will give us seven kids and also an- other threat down low, along with another ball handler." Young led the team with 21 points. Taylor had 16, Williams added four, Hailey Parker finished with three and Delaney Welch chipped in one. The team also defeated Southridge, 30 -18, on Thurs- day, Dec. 12. "The girls brought back the fight and aggressive- ness that we needed for this win over Southridge," Knight said. "There were two main goals for tonight's game that we went over in practice and also preached before the game. Cut down on turnovers and have fun playing ball. Both were do- ne during this game." The Lady Chargers had been averaging more than 20 turnovers a game, but limited themselves to just 14 against the Raiders. "The hard work on de- fense and just competing hard was fun to watch and coach," Knight said. "The girls looked like they were having fun on the floor." Taylor had another big game. She finished with a team-high 11 points and made 7-of-10 free throws. "The free-throw line gave her fits this season, but she overcame them last night," Knight said. "This was big for her. She needed that to build up that confidence she was lacking at the line. Lib- erty was big in the post and once the ball got to her, she looked to attack the basket. This is something we have to have from her. She is dom- inant in the post and has that ability to get around defend- ers and get to the rim." Young also had anoth- er great game running the point. "She took care of the ball and ran the offense for us," Knight said. Southridge knocked down a few buckets to narrow the lead in the third quarter, but the Lady Chargers were per- sistent and never gave up. "They hit those shots in the third to edge closer, but the girls never quit," Knight said. "Overall, it was a very good game and win for the girls. Something we defi- nitely can build on. Once this team starts moving on offense and attacking the rim from everyone, we will be a tough little team to com- pete with." Other Lady Charger scor- ers were Young (6), Parker (5), Welch (4A) and Wil- liams (4). The team travels to Gib- son Southern on Thursday, Dec. 19, and hosts North Knox on Saturday, Dec. 21. BULLDOGS Continued from page 1 said. "But we just could not get our offense really going and Southridge pulled ahead late in the fourth quarter." The Lady Raiders' sopho- more guard Myah Montgom- ery finished with a game- high 24 points. "We gave a good effort, but Montgomery is a good player and gave us prob- lems," McCutchan said. Montgomery is consid- ered by many recruiting services to be a top 15 pros- pect in Indiana for the Class of 2022. Nelson and Vaughn led Pike Central with 16 and 12, respectively. Other Lady Chargers' scorers were Hunt (9), Mann (2) and Leighty (2). Pike Central will be on the road at Gibson Southern (8 - 2, 1-0 PAC) on Thursday, Dec. 9, and will host North Knox (5 -5, 1-2 Blue Chip) on Saturday, Dec. 21. Pike Central's Jayln Nelson finishes off a fast break against South Spencer. Pike Central's Kahle Young sprints toward the basket earlier this season. Pike Central's Kenzie Powell looks to dish to open team- mates against South Spencer. Middle School Basketball Roundup By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Judging by the eyeball test, the Pike Central eighth-grade girls' basketball team was a big underdog against Her- itage Hills on Thursday, Dec. 12. The problem was no one told the un- dersized Lady Chargers as they defeat- ed the Lady Patriots, 30 -7. "This was a great game," Pike Cen- tral coach Jenn Smith said. "It was ex- citing to see the girls having fun and working together as a team. They are such a great group of girls and it's awe- some to watch them grow together." It was the first time the team ran a full court press and their 5 -out offense. All members of the team scored for the first time this season, too. "The girls hustled, played great de- fense and executed their offense well," Smith said. "The girls did a fantastic job." The Lady Chargers started out in their usual man-to-man defense, but af- ter a made basket by Jamie Sallee, they put on the heat with a full-court press. The Chargers slowed down Heritage Hills and also caused some turnovers. The Chargers did a great job looking into the post, giving Shelby Meadows an opportunity to score a bucket and get some fouls called on Heritage Hills. Brailey Mills scored a basket, ending the first quarter with the Lady Char- gers up 6 -0. The second quarter took off with the Lady Chargers causing many turn- overs and steals. Many Chargers were able to score due to their outstanding hustle and defense. Mills scored two, Ruby Sallee scored two, Anna White- head was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and also scored a bucket, and Meadows went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. The half ended with the Lady Chargers ahead 16 -2. The second half started off slowly on the offensive end. The Lady Char- gers and Heritage Hills started trading buckets a few minutes into the quar- ter. Whitehead was able to connect and score two more baskets. Ashlynn Kirk made her presence known by ending the quarter with a steal and a lay-up. The Lady Chargers ended the third quarter leading 22-6. The fourth quarter was another dis- play of great half-court defense by the Lady Chargers, causing many turn- overs and steals. The Lady Chargers were able to score eight more points in the quarter. Scoring was led by Shelby Meadows this quarter with two more baskets, Kelby Leighty scored two more points, and Brailey Mills also made a bucket to end the quarter. Whitehead led the team with eight total points. Mills, Kirk, A. Sallee, Meadows and J. Sallee each added two points. The team lost 21-18 to Wood Memo- rial on Tuesday, Dec. 10. This was a hard-fought game that ended with the Lady Chargers com- ing up a little short in the end. The first quarter started with strong de- fense from both teams. On the offen- sive side, Mills scored a bucket and two free-throws. Meadows also scored a basket ending the quarter with the Lady Chargers up 6 -4. The second quarter continued with great defense by the Lady Chargers, holding the Acorns to only four points. Leading the way in scoring this quar- ter was Ruby Sallee with a free-throw, Whitehead had a basket and Meadows tossed in two free-throws. The half ended with the Lady Chargers up 11-8. The second half came out with the Acorns coming out strong on the offen- sive side. They scored seven points to tie it up at the end of the third quarter 15 -15. The Lady Chargers were led by Mills with two free-throws and Leighty getting some action in the post area scoring a bucket. The final quarter was a battle of free- throws, with both teams in bonus. Mills made two and Meadows made one. Un- fortunately, the Chargers were down by three and couldn't connect on ma- ny shot attempts to tie it up and send it into overtime. The final buzzer rang and it ended with the Lady Chargers down 21-18. "This was a good come back game for us after our display against North Knox," Smith said. "It was great to see the girls being aggressive, working as a team and having a positive attitude. They fought hard the whole game, but unfortunately, came up a little short. The first half they showed great help- side defense. I had to throw a new of- fense at them and they did well with the execution of it. The second half I threw a different defense at them, and they did a wonderful job with it. It was just great to see the girls working as a team and playing like I know they can. I know we lost, but I felt like we did a lot of good things and I consider this a good loss." The Pike Central seventh-grade girls lost to Heritage Hills, 48 -1. Lil- lian Mann scored the Lady Chargers lone point. The teams traveled to Forest Park on Monday, Dec. 16. They will also travel to Princeton on Wednesday, Dec. 18, host Owensville on Thursday, Dec. 19 and will back on road at Barr-Reeve on Saturday, Dec. 21. Above: Pike Central's An- na Whitehe- ad goes up for a shot against Heritage Hills on Thursday, Dec. 12. Right: Pike Cen- tral's Brailey Mills scans the Heritage Hills defense on Thursday, Dec. 12.