Lady Blaze burn Warren County
MCMINNVILLE — A dominating post presence propelled Blackman’s girls to their first District 7-AAA win Tuesday night.
Led by the inside play from Nikki Hughes and Alana Hicks, as well as a solid night at guard by senior Jennifer Cunningham, the Lady Blaze pulled away steadily over the final three quarters on their way to a 56-47 win over Warren County.
“They played their hearts out,” said coach George Hockenberry, whose squad improved to 13-7 overall and 1-4 in the league standings. “They played hard, and had some good things happen for them tonight.
“We’d had two bad ballgames, but we’ve had a lot of good ballgames, and we knew we could bounce back, but we had to come up here and prove it.”
Leaping out to a 7-0 lead, the Lady Blaze saw their scoreboard advantage evaporate over the closing minutes of the first quarter. Warren County’s Whitney Pelham erased her team’s goose egg with a 3-pointer, and Jasmine Ware buried a long trey at the buzzer to cut the BHS lead to 13-10 by the end of the period.
Hughes took over in the second quarter, scoring seven of her game-high 23 points, and the Lady Blaze defense held WCHS to just one field goal through the course of the period to take a 26-16 lead into the break.
Although the Lady Pioneers (12-6, 1-4) held their own in the second half, outscoring their guests 31-30 over the final 16 minutes, Blackman’s early control combined with the tandem of Hughes and Cunningham held the host team in check until the final horn.
Cunningham finished with 13 points, while Hicks netted 10. Warren County was led by Leah Cunningham, who scored all 16 of her points in the second half, and Jasmine Ware, who posted 11.
The Lady Blaze have a bye this Friday, but return to action Tuesday night against Oakland. Blackman lost to the Lady Patriots during their regular-season meeting Dec. 10, but picked up a win over their crosstown rivals during a holiday tournament.
“These teams can play in this district,” Hockenberry said. “We’ve beaten Oakland and Lebanon, but they were both in a tournament. So in the back of your mind you’re thinking, ‘My gosh, what have you got to do?’ You’ve got to go out there and win, period.”