Lady Spartans rout Lady Colts
By Brandon White
bwhite@hendersondispatch.com; 252-436-2840
HENDERSON – After obtaining a tough 34-27 defeat to the Ridgecroft Rams on Nov. 25, the Kerr-Vance Academy Spartans girls basketball team successfully rebounded by picking up a 46-22 win against a struggling Crossroads Christian Colts team Tuesday night.
Lady Spartans head coach Marcus Foster has only overseen the program for a few months following the departure of Alicia Person, but he believes that his players turned in their most consistent performance of the season following some early struggles.
“We came out very enthusiastic to play,” Foster said. “A lot of people told me that these games with Crossroads are a lot like the Duke-Carolina rivalry, so I was happy that we won this game. We played good on defense, we rotated well, and there were a lot of things that we can take from tonight and improve on.”
Lady Colts head coach Shane Wilder wanted his players to focus on boxing out more frequently following their slow start, but that topic continued to be an issue Tuesday with the Lady Colts surrendering 10 consecutive points to the Lady Spartans at the start of the first quarter.
Another hinderance to the Lady Colts’ overall performance was their sense of urgency, as they failed to take advantage of multiple loose balls and poor shots from the Lady Spartans, who continued to pile points on the scoreboard to enter halftime with a comfortable 28-7 advantage.
The issues for the Lady Colts were compounded by a first half injury to senior Justice Simmons that lingered into the third quarter, which left them shorthanded against a stout Lady Spartans defense that consistently prevented the Lady Colts’ leading scorer in Brycelyn Woodward from finding open looks at the net.
The Lady Spartans limited the Lady Colts to just two points in the third quarter and continued to relentlessly attack their opponent during the final eight minutes of the game to secure their fourth victory of the 2019-20 season.
For Wilder, Tuesday evening saw many bad habits come back to the surface for the Lady Colts, but he said that the focus of his first season with the program is not about the amount of wins, but rather the overall effort each individual player puts in for long-term success.
“It all comes down to execution,” Wilder said. “Confidence against New Life Christian Academy helped us win that game, but when we don’t have confidence, we struggle. It’s frustrating, but we’re young, we’re learning and we’re making steps. Things didn’t go our way tonight, but I’m still proud of them.”
Although the Lady Spartans had very few difficulties against the Lady Colts, there are still many aspects of their overall performance that Foster wants to keep working on, but he affirmed that defense will be a primary staple of the team going forward.
“I’m a defensive-minded coach,” Foster said. “If you put an emphasis on defense, then the offense will come to life as a result. We just need to keep playing hard all around, and we’ll have more games like tonight.”
The Lady Spartans will stay on the road for their next game against the Christ Covenant Spartans on Friday at 5:30 p.m., while Wilder will try to get the Lady Colts on track when they battle the Northwood Temple Academy Eagles at home on the same day.
Kerr
By Brandon White
bwhite@hendersondispatch.com; 252-436-2840
HENDERSON – After obtaining a tough 34-27 defeat to the Ridgecroft Rams on Nov. 25, the Kerr-Vance Academy Spartans girls basketball team successfully rebounded by picking up a 46-22 win against a struggling Crossroads Christian Colts team Tuesday night.
Lady Spartans head coach Marcus Foster has only overseen the program for a few months following the departure of Alicia Person, but he believes that his players turned in their most consistent performance of the season following some early struggles.
“We came out very enthusiastic to play,” Foster said. “A lot of people told me that these games with Crossroads are a lot like the Duke-Carolina rivalry, so I was happy that we won this game. We played good on defense, we rotated well, and there were a lot of things that we can take from tonight and improve on.”
Lady Colts head coach Shane Wilder wanted his players to focus on boxing out more frequently following their slow start, but that topic continued to be an issue Tuesday with the Lady Colts surrendering 10 consecutive points to the Lady Spartans at the start of the first quarter.
Another hinderance to the Lady Colts’ overall performance was their sense of urgency, as they failed to take advantage of multiple loose balls and poor shots from the Lady Spartans, who continued to pile points on the scoreboard to enter halftime with a comfortable 28-7 advantage.
The issues for the Lady Colts were compounded by a first half injury to senior Justice Simmons that lingered into the third quarter, which left them shorthanded against a stout Lady Spartans defense that consistently prevented the Lady Colts’ leading scorer in Brycelyn Woodward from finding open looks at the net.
The Lady Spartans limited the Lady Colts to just two points in the third quarter and continued to relentlessly attack their opponent during the final eight minutes of the game to secure their fourth victory of the 2019-20 season.
For Wilder, Tuesday evening saw many bad habits come back to the surface for the Lady Colts, but he said that the focus of his first season with the program is not about the amount of wins, but rather the overall effort each individual player puts in for long-term success.
“It all comes down to execution,” Wilder said. “Confidence against New Life Christian Academy helped us win that game, but when we don’t have confidence, we struggle. It’s frustrating, but we’re young, we’re learning and we’re making steps. Things didn’t go our way tonight, but I’m still proud of them.”
Although the Lady Spartans had very few difficulties against the Lady Colts, there are still many aspects of their overall performance that Foster wants to keep working on, but he affirmed that defense will be a primary staple of the team going forward.
“I’m a defensive-minded coach,” Foster said. “If you put an emphasis on defense, then the offense will come to life as a result. We just need to keep playing hard all around, and we’ll have more games like tonight.”
The Lady Spartans will stay on the road for their next game against the Christ Covenant Spartans on Friday at 5:30 p.m., while Wilder will try to get the Lady Colts on track when they battle the Northwood Temple Academy Eagles at home on the same day.
Kerr
