Lady Bulldogs conquer Lady Patriots

Lady Bulldogs conquer Lady Patriots

T’asja Hughey led Earle on the scoreboard, knocking down 16 points against Brinkley

sports@theeveningtimes.com

After suffering their first loss to West Memphis in Marion, the Earle Lady Bulldogs (3-1 overall, 1-0 2A Conference) returned home in winning fashion, downing the Brinkley Patriots (1-2) 65-31 this past Saturday.

The Lady Bulldogs jetted out to a 26-6 advantage after the opening stanza, never looking back on their way to the 33-point victory.

“We jumped on them early,” said Earle head coach Corey Garrett. “We jumped out on them pretty bad by pressing. They may have turned the ball over 26 total times. So, we came out on them pretty aggressive and keeping up the full court pressure. We just pressed them.”

The Lady Bulldogs offensive performance was a direct result of a defensive effort that resulted in several Earle steals with four coming from RoShala Scott and another four coming from Elaijha Brown. Scott and Brown finished second and third on the Lady Bulldogs team in scoring pumping in 13 and 12 points respectively.

CaDonnia Childs also pitched in defensively, coming away with three steals and pushing through five points.

“We had a total team effort,” Garrett said. “We were aggressive on defense and it paid off with easy baskets. The temp was fast like we want it to be.”

While Scott and Brown’s quick hands resulted in almost 40 percent of the Lady Bulldogs total points, it was sophomore T’asja Hughey who led the Earle ladies in scoring, pumping in 16 points in the victory.

“She had a heck of a game,” Garrett said. “She did a heck of a job shooting the ball and attacking the basket. I was impressed with how she played but I expect her to play like that all the time. So, while I was impressed, it was something that I expect because I know she can do it.”

Along with Hughey, Garrett warns teams of preparing to face them while believing they only revolve around the play of Scott.

“Once again, she’s another one of those players that people don’t know about and hey they see what she can do and they’re kind of surprised,” Garrett said.

Hughey also grabbed five boards, finishing third on the Lady Bulldogs squad in rebounds behind Childs and Veronique Sanders who each grabbed six rebounds.

“The post players did an excellent job on their big players, keeping them off the glass and limiting them to one shot,” Garrett said.

The Lady Bulldogs return to action tomorrow night as Earle travels to McCroy to take on the Jaguars (21). The girl’s basketball action is precluded by girls and boys junior varsity games, the first of which tips off at 4:00 p.m.

By Collins Peeples