VALDOSTA —
Prior to the start of the 2011 season, Shan Garner said his team would be a defensively minded squad. On Saturday night, the Lowndes Vikettes lived up to their coaches’ expectations, while mixing in some dominant offense, crushing the Cook Lady Hornets, 66-36.
“That is what we do,” Garner said. “That is what we work on.”
The Vikettes defense was strong, especially early on, holding Cook without a field goal until the 3:10 mark of the second quarter. While Cook went 12 minutes and 50 seconds into the game without a field goal, largely because of the suffocating defense and multiple moving violations that were called against Cook, the Vikettes found the basket much easier. Led by eight first quarter points from Tasia Brown, the Vikettes built a strong 21-0 opening quarter lead.
“Offensively, we are throwing it to the open person and Tasia is giving us a whole new dimension off the bounce,” Garner said. “(Danyelle) Jones is not having to score this year, she can, but she is distributing it well, and Maggie (McGlamry) is lighting it up.”
The Vikettes continued their dominance into the second quarter, building a 29-0 lead before the Lady Hornets finally found their first points of the night, which came on two free throws from Elesha Foster with 3:47 to play in the opening half. Breonah Rockmore’s two-pointer two possessions later marked the first field goal for Cook. For Lowndes, Maggie McGlamry had the hot hand in the second quarter, leading the way with seven points to help Lowndes hold a 40-8 halftime lead.
Lowndes slowed down in the second half, mainly because of the multiple lineups Garner put on the floor. The Vikettes allowed Cook to gain some momentum, offensively. Led by eight third quarter points by Sam Mitchell, and eight fourth quarter points by Savannah Hart, the Hornets closed the gap to the 30-point finish.
“We got a little discombobulated, I guess, there in the third quarter,” Garner said about Cook’s run. “I looked out there one time and I had five guards on the floor, just trying to get kids out there and reward them. I thought it was a great effort, and I am trying to keep the integrity of the game intact without making the opponent look bad and tonight we could have.”
For Lowndes, Tasia Brown and Kenya Durden led the way, recording 14 points each. Maggie McGlamry added 10 points off the bench. For Cook, Elesha Foster was the only Lady Hornet to score in double figures, finishing the night with 10 points.
Lowndes boys 49, Cook 43
The Lowndes boys basketball team took another step in the right direction Saturday night, holding off a tough fighting Cook Hornets team 49-43.
“We showed some heart and character tonight,” Lowndes head coach Kingston Clark said. “We played against Ware County last week and we blew a commanding lead in the fourth quarter, so (tonight) we showed that we could actually hold onto the basketball and withstand the intensity that (Cook) brought us.”
Despite leading for nearly the entire game, the Vikings found themselves trailing with 1:31 to play, following a Rakeem Battle basket for the Hornets. The Cook lead didn’t lost long, though, as Lowndes’ Caleb Austin converted two free throws to put the Vikings in the lead, 44-43.
As both teams played the final minutes of the game in the double-bonus, the Hornets found themselves to regain the lead on their very next possession, but Quin Fletcher was unable to convert from the charity stripe. Off the miss, the Vikings wasted little team extending their lead as Justin Williams nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 51 seconds remaining. Williams’ deep ball gave the Vikings a 47-43 lead.
Following a missed 3-pointer by Cook’s Jerome Hill, who led the Hornets with 12 points on the night, Austin nailed two more three throws to ice the game for Lowndes.
“That was a huge shot by Justin,” Clark said. “That was tremendous for him to hit that three-pointer in the corner.”
On the night, Caleb Austin led the Vikings in scoring with 12 points, six of which came in the closing minutes. Josh Cooper added 10 points off the bench in the winning effort.
Before trailing late in the fourth quarter, following Battle’s basket, the Vikings trailed just once. The Hornets 15-14 lead didn’t last long, as Lowndes’ Adrian Garland converted two free throws to give Lowndes a one-point lead in the closing minutes of the first half.
Leading for the majority of the game, the Vikings were able to build a double-digit lead on just one occasion, coming early in the third quarter when Jeremy Henderson converted two free throws to make the score 25-15.
Both Lowndes basketball teams return to action Tuesday night, when they host Brooks County. The varsity girls game will begin at 6 p.m. with the boys game to follow.
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Lowndes’ Adrian Garland dribbles down the lane for a shot during Saturday night’s contest against Cook. The Vikings won the game 49-43.
Discussion
Lowndes sweeps Cook
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