Lady Eagles prey on Boyd

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Van Buren County’s size inside the paint dominated the boards Monday night, as the Lady Eagles took a 62-33 win over the home-standing Boyd Lady Broncos.

Lady Eagle Whitney Baker led the first-quarter charge for Van Buren County as she hit for six points in the paint to help the Lady Eagles on their way to a very impressive first quarter.

The Lady Broncos had problems matching up inside with Van Buren, and opted to use a full-court press to attempt to control the pace of the game.

Van Buren had many second-chance baskets in the first four minutes of play, and used very aggressive defense to hold the Lady Broncos scoreless. Kati Sutton put the first points on the board for Boyd, but the Lady Broncos closed out the first period down 21-5.

In the second period Boyd pulled its offense together, with Amanda Prater working hard on the inside to help the Lady Broncos to 11 points in the period. The Lady Eagles still controlled the paint, however, and by the end of the half had built a 35-16 lead.

Boyd switched to a man-to-man defense to open the third period, hoping to keep the Lady Eagles in check. Baker once again took control and hit for eight of Van Buren’s 14 points in the period, and Mica Hutchings hit from behind the arc while solid defense held Boyd to three points by the end of the third to lead 49-19.

With the 30-point lead going into the final period, Van Buren emptied its bench. The Lady Broncos countered by getting some of their own younger players on the court. Boyd out-scored the Lady Eagles 14-13 in the final period, but fell 29 points short as the Broncos fell at home.

For the Lady Broncos, Prater led the way with eight points, Sutton had seven, Amber Hodge and Lydia Powell hit for five points each. Alex Porter had four, Amber Brewer and Jennifer Laxton had two points each.

For the Lady Eagles, Baker and Hutchings had 14 points each. Haley Cambell had nine, Lindsey Wilson and Tyler Smith hit for seven points each. Andria Hennessee had five, Tiffanie Ferguson, Kynsie Cochran and Lauren Grissom had two points each.