Lady Pioneers grounded by Jets’ tough pressure

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Too much pressure can often cause a collapse, and Monday night, too much full-court pressure from the Cumberland County freshman girls caused an offensive collapse by their Warren County opponents.

After holding their own for the game’s first two quarters, the Lady Pioneers found points hard to come by after intermission, and fell to the visiting Lady Jets 43-30.

The Lady Pioneers fell behind early in Monday night’s game, their first contest since Dec. 11. The Lady Jets built a 6-0 lead, but WCHS closed the first period with a 5-3 run to close the gap to 9-5 by the period’s end.

Elizabeth Kennamer converted a three-point play to open the second half, and came through with a pair of free throws on her team’s next possession to give them their first — and only — lead of the contest at 10-8. But a 6-0 run from CCHS put them back on top 15-10, and the Lady Jets carried a 21-18 lead into the break.

The third quarter belonged to the Lady Jets, who opened things up with a Krystal Henry 3-pointer and posted 11 unanswered point before Kennamer broke the drought at the 2:32 mark of the period.

Defensively, Cumberland County switched to a tenacious full-court pressure that made it difficult for the Lady Pioneers to even bring the ball upcourt. For the game, the Lady Jets forced a whopping 47 turnovers, converting many of them to easy baskets on the other end of the floor.

The period ended with CCHS holding a 36-22 lead, and the Lady Jets held WCHS at bay in the fourth to capture the eventual 13-point win.

Erica Martin finished with 10 points for the Lady Jets, who spread their scoring among nine players. Randi Williams had seven, while Kari Bowman had six and Whitney Keck scored five.

Katie Cravens and Becca Hayes had four points each, Henry added three, and the duo of Katie Stone and Tori Smith had two each.

Kennamer led the Lady Pioneers with 16 points, while Elizabeth Lavoie had six and Kelah Walker scored three. Catherine Hill and Jessica Ford had two each, and Megan Hobbs had one.