McNair outscores Cyclones as Lady Knights roll
By Jimmy Lewis
While the ball doesn’t always go in the basket for the Greenfield School varsity girls basketball team, a lot can be said for continually getting in position to make the proper play.
The Lady Knights put on a clinic in that regard Monday against crosstown opponent Community Christian.
Coming out in a sagging man-to-man defense that flustered CCS from the opening tip, Greenfield didn’t allow a field goal in the first quarter and removed any suspense with a 23-1 start to the contest.
Offensively, freshman Serenity McNair and eighth grader Darcy Dean combined to give the Lady Cyclones fits in the backcourt. McNair outscored CCS by her lonesome, pumping in 33 points in easing Greenfield to a runaway 56-18 victory.
Greenfield, the sole 1-A member of the 1-A/2-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference, played in just its fourth game and improved to 2-2. CCS, of the 1-A Mid-Carolina Conference, dropped to 2-4. Defensive issues for the Lady Cyclones were exasperated by the absence of junior Loreli Ferguson, considered by CCS head coach Kenneth Atkinson to be the team’s best defender. Atkinson identified the Greenfield defense to start as a box-and-1 look, only to see a man-to-man look in actuality.
“We saw the floor, and it looked like we were in slow motion,” Greenfield head coach Bruce Wall said.
“We attacked them as they gave it to us. That’s really what it came down to. We executed, and took advantage of the holes in their defense.”
McNair sliced and diced her way through the CCS defense, which was left to rely on zone in the absence of Ferguson. Meanwhile on offense, it was the Lady Cyclones that were in slow motion. With seniors Logan Vaughn and Olivia Walker absent simultaneously from the scoresheet, Greenfield’s man-to-man defense took hold and stayed consistent throughout. The Lady Knights forced a bounty of turnovers and collected second- and third-chance rebounding opportunities at their leisure against the CCS zone.
It took a 3-pointer from senior Abby Lenhart with 3 minutes, 53 seconds left before halftime to give CCS its first field goal. But by that time, Greenfield still led 23-4.
Walker was held scoreless, while Vaughn tallied all nine of her points in the fourth quarter with the outcome long since decided.
“The girls were a little confused,” Atkinson said of the Lady Cyclones. “Overall, I think we did OK. They’re a great team — I don’t take nothing from them.”
Dean, who had 10 points for Greenfield, had consecutive baskets in the third quarter to give the Lady Knights their largest lead of 36 at 42-6. Sophomore Jeallen Holland added five points.
McNair supplemented her aggressive penetration with five 3-pointers, defeating the CCS zone in every conceivable fashion.
Despite a glut of underclassmen on the Greenfield roster — several with no basketball experience prior to this season — the Lady Knights find themselves improving with each game.
“Just continuously practicing,” McNair said. “Having our core at practice has really helped us. We have our base core, which is very smart and makes smart decisions moreso than not. We’ve been practicing very hard for this.”
Greenfield lulled for a spell in the third quarter, coming away with just three baskets despite little change in the quality of its offensive opportunities.
“We’re getting great looks,” Wall said. “We got some great looks tonight, but it didn’t fall in some. But we made up for it on hustle and rebounding and getting more opportunities on top of it.”
GREENFIELD 56 COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN 18
CCS 1 5 2 10 — 18
Greenfield 18 18 6 14 — 56
COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN (18)
Walker, Langley 3, Jackson 1, Lyndon, Strange, Lenhart 5, Vaughn 9.
GREENFIELD (56)
Dean 10, McNair 33, Holland 9, Coleman 2, Parker 2.
CCS 1 5 2 10 — 18
Greenfield 18 18 6 14 — 56
By Jimmy Lewis
While the ball doesn’t always go in the basket for the Greenfield School varsity girls basketball team, a lot can be said for continually getting in position to make the proper play.
The Lady Knights put on a clinic in that regard Monday against crosstown opponent Community Christian.
Coming out in a sagging man-to-man defense that flustered CCS from the opening tip, Greenfield didn’t allow a field goal in the first quarter and removed any suspense with a 23-1 start to the contest.
Offensively, freshman Serenity McNair and eighth grader Darcy Dean combined to give the Lady Cyclones fits in the backcourt. McNair outscored CCS by her lonesome, pumping in 33 points in easing Greenfield to a runaway 56-18 victory.
Greenfield, the sole 1-A member of the 1-A/2-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference, played in just its fourth game and improved to 2-2. CCS, of the 1-A Mid-Carolina Conference, dropped to 2-4. Defensive issues for the Lady Cyclones were exasperated by the absence of junior Loreli Ferguson, considered by CCS head coach Kenneth Atkinson to be the team’s best defender. Atkinson identified the Greenfield defense to start as a box-and-1 look, only to see a man-to-man look in actuality.
“We saw the floor, and it looked like we were in slow motion,” Greenfield head coach Bruce Wall said.
“We attacked them as they gave it to us. That’s really what it came down to. We executed, and took advantage of the holes in their defense.”
McNair sliced and diced her way through the CCS defense, which was left to rely on zone in the absence of Ferguson. Meanwhile on offense, it was the Lady Cyclones that were in slow motion. With seniors Logan Vaughn and Olivia Walker absent simultaneously from the scoresheet, Greenfield’s man-to-man defense took hold and stayed consistent throughout. The Lady Knights forced a bounty of turnovers and collected second- and third-chance rebounding opportunities at their leisure against the CCS zone.
It took a 3-pointer from senior Abby Lenhart with 3 minutes, 53 seconds left before halftime to give CCS its first field goal. But by that time, Greenfield still led 23-4.
Walker was held scoreless, while Vaughn tallied all nine of her points in the fourth quarter with the outcome long since decided.
“The girls were a little confused,” Atkinson said of the Lady Cyclones. “Overall, I think we did OK. They’re a great team — I don’t take nothing from them.”
Dean, who had 10 points for Greenfield, had consecutive baskets in the third quarter to give the Lady Knights their largest lead of 36 at 42-6. Sophomore Jeallen Holland added five points.
McNair supplemented her aggressive penetration with five 3-pointers, defeating the CCS zone in every conceivable fashion.
Despite a glut of underclassmen on the Greenfield roster — several with no basketball experience prior to this season — the Lady Knights find themselves improving with each game.
“Just continuously practicing,” McNair said. “Having our core at practice has really helped us. We have our base core, which is very smart and makes smart decisions moreso than not. We’ve been practicing very hard for this.”
Greenfield lulled for a spell in the third quarter, coming away with just three baskets despite little change in the quality of its offensive opportunities.
“We’re getting great looks,” Wall said. “We got some great looks tonight, but it didn’t fall in some. But we made up for it on hustle and rebounding and getting more opportunities on top of it.”
GREENFIELD 56 COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN 18
CCS 1 5 2 10 — 18
Greenfield 18 18 6 14 — 56
COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN (18)
Walker, Langley 3, Jackson 1, Lyndon, Strange, Lenhart 5, Vaughn 9.
GREENFIELD (56)
Dean 10, McNair 33, Holland 9, Coleman 2, Parker 2.
CCS 1 5 2 10 — 18
Greenfield 18 18 6 14 — 56
