CROTHERSVILLE
Kevin Hensley couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present from his Crothersville girls basketball team than the one he received Wednesday night.
The Tigers made sure their coach celebrated in grand style by getting off to a roaring start with a 21-3 lead at the end of the first period and rolled to a 70-38 win over South Central.
It was the Tigers’ third game in three nights, and Hensley said it was important for his team to play aggressive from the start in this Southern Athletic Conference game.
“The first two nights, both games were very aggressive both ways,” he said. “We could have pulled off that New Washington game, but Kennadi (Lakins) fouled out because of that aggressiveness. That took a ball handler out of our offense, but I think that got us ready for tonight.”
Grace Wilson’s layup put the Tigers up 10-0 with 4:35 left in the first quarter.
After Kendall Kider hit a 3-pointer for the Rebels’ only points of the first 11 minutes of the game, the Tigers kept on building their lead.
Wilson scored back-to-back field goals, Addy Cole scored her third basket of the game and Lakins drove for a layup at the buzzer to make it a 21-3 at the end of the period.
A rebound basket by Cole early in the second period gave the Tigers a 23-3 lead, and they were on top 25-13 at the break as the Rebels closed a bit from a 10-2 run over the final 5:30 of the half.
The Rebels cut their deficit to 34-24 with 2:35 left in the third period before Zoe Spangler scored two baskets to spark the Tigers to a 10-4 run and a 44-28 lead going into the final period.
Cole, who missed the first 10 games while recovering from knee surgery, scored a game-high 23 points to lead four Tigers in double figures, the first time this season they have done that.
The 70 points is a season high for the Tigers with their previous high being 63 against Columbus Christian.
Cole, who has averaged 16.6 in the five games she has played, said the start was a key to the win.
“The adrenaline was definitely pumping, and it felt amazing,” she said. “That’s where I’m most effective, down in the post. At the beginning, we definitely had a lot of energy, but during the middle of the game, we got down and tired.”
Cole said the Tigers need to work hard in practice.
“We need to get in the gym and work very hard on communicating, especially on defense,” she said, “and we need to get some shots up, and we need to work on blocking out.”
Lakins finished with 17 points, Wilson had 12 and Spangler 10.
Hensley was pleased with the offense, except for the 14 turnovers.
“That’s the one thing we can’t get away from. Our entry passes are just terrible,” he said. “It was good to get a conference win. I wish we could have gotten our last two. Henryville was a one-point loss, and New Washington was a two-point game with a minute to go.”
The Tigers (1-3 SAC, 5-10) host a strong Lanesville team Monday night.
“We have too many miscues handling the ball,” Hensley said. “That’s the name of our game. Just about every game, I put on the board: Rebounding and turnovers. If we take care of that, we’re usually in a ballgame.”
The Tigers held a 33-18 margin in rebounds with Cole and Spangler each grabbing nine.
The Rebels (0-4 SAC, 1-11) were led by Millie Spencer with 14 points.
Box score
At Crothersville
Crothersville 70, South Central 38
South Central;3;10;15;10;—;38
Crothersville;21;4;19;26;—;70
Crothersville: Zoe Spangler 5 0-0 10, Addy Cole 11 0-0 23, Kennadi Lakins 5 7-10 17, Grace Wilson 5 1-2 12, Ella Plasse 3 0-0 6, Shania Hyland 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 8-12 70.
South Central: Kendall Kider 3 3-5 10, Gabby Ashley 2 0-0 4, Lily Boley 4 0-0 8, Millie Spencer 7 0-0 14, Grace McCrary 1 0-0 2, Lexi Liebert 0 0-2 0. Totals: 17 3-7 38.
3-point goals: C (Cole, Wilson) SC (Kider)
Rebounds: C 33 (Cole 9, Spangler 9), SC 18 (Spencer 6)
Fouls: C 9, SC 10
Turnovers: C 14, SC 18