THBURSDAY
Defensive pressure key for Kerr-Vance
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM; 252-436-2840
The Kerr-Vance Academy girls’ basketball team jumped all over Community Christian from the very beginning Thursday evening, cruising to an easy 78-43 victory over the visiting Cyclones.
The Spartans (7-6) found their rhythm early on offense, lighting up the scoreboard through the first eight minutes of action to take a 27-7 lead into the second quarter. Bonnie Evans led the way for Kerr-Vance, netting 11 of her 24 points in the first quarter as she consistently forced turnovers and created easy buckets in transition.
“Our press is what really worked well for us,” Spartans’ head coach Sandy Ross said. “We used our speed and Bonnie [Evans] was able to get a lot of steals and get easy points that way.”
The Cyclones finally began to figure out how to break the Spartans’ full-court press in the second quarter, outscoring Kerr-Vance 17-11 to cut their deficit to 14 points at the half.
Kerr-Vance had the height advantage over the Cyclones, something the Spartans are not accustomed to whatsoever. Ross tried to get her squad to use this to their advantage, but they are used to being the faster team and are much more comfortable with a speedy style of play.
“We had the height advantage for once tonight, but we didn’t use it like we should have,” Ross said. “I tried talking to them at halftime to try and see if we could work the ball down low, but we’re just not used to being the taller team.”
That was perfectly fine with Ross, however, considering her team held the Cyclones to single digits in the third quarter as they broke the game wide open. The Spartans continued to use their elite speed, wreaking havoc on Community Christian ball handlers with their defensive pressure.
On the offensive end, Spartans’ guard Kennedy Adcock caught fire
after the break as she recorded 14 of her 20 points in the second half Thursday. Becca Johnson (12 pts), Ashley Dickerson (6 pts) and Emma Hogge (8 pts) also produced down the stretch for Kerr-Vance.
“Kennedy [Adcock] didn’t hit her three-pointers in the first half, but she stayed confident, kept shooting and started making them in the second half,” Ross said. “I was also able to use the whole team tonight, which I really like to do.”
Kerr-Vance went on to outscore Community Christian by 10 points in the third quarter, sporting an extremely comfortable 24-point cushion heading into the final eight minutes of regulation. Morgan Lane led the Cyclones with 19 points on the night, while Ashley Hartsfield (10 pts) also reach double figures for Community Christian.
The Spartans’ earned a scrappy win Tuesday night after a long holiday break, but also missed a great deal of easy layups according to Ross. Therefore, the Spartans’ primary focus at Wednesday’s practice was shooting and getting back to the basics. The practice surely benefitted the Spartans, who could prove to be a dangerous team in conference play due to their ridiculous speed and defensive intensity.
The Spartans (7-6) will return to action when they host Faith Christian in a crucial 1A Carolina Independent Conference matchup Tuesday night.
Defensive pressure key for Kerr-Vance
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM; 252-436-2840
The Kerr-Vance Academy girls’ basketball team jumped all over Community Christian from the very beginning Thursday evening, cruising to an easy 78-43 victory over the visiting Cyclones.
The Spartans (7-6) found their rhythm early on offense, lighting up the scoreboard through the first eight minutes of action to take a 27-7 lead into the second quarter. Bonnie Evans led the way for Kerr-Vance, netting 11 of her 24 points in the first quarter as she consistently forced turnovers and created easy buckets in transition.
“Our press is what really worked well for us,” Spartans’ head coach Sandy Ross said. “We used our speed and Bonnie [Evans] was able to get a lot of steals and get easy points that way.”
The Cyclones finally began to figure out how to break the Spartans’ full-court press in the second quarter, outscoring Kerr-Vance 17-11 to cut their deficit to 14 points at the half.
Kerr-Vance had the height advantage over the Cyclones, something the Spartans are not accustomed to whatsoever. Ross tried to get her squad to use this to their advantage, but they are used to being the faster team and are much more comfortable with a speedy style of play.
“We had the height advantage for once tonight, but we didn’t use it like we should have,” Ross said. “I tried talking to them at halftime to try and see if we could work the ball down low, but we’re just not used to being the taller team.”
That was perfectly fine with Ross, however, considering her team held the Cyclones to single digits in the third quarter as they broke the game wide open. The Spartans continued to use their elite speed, wreaking havoc on Community Christian ball handlers with their defensive pressure.
On the offensive end, Spartans’ guard Kennedy Adcock caught fire
after the break as she recorded 14 of her 20 points in the second half Thursday. Becca Johnson (12 pts), Ashley Dickerson (6 pts) and Emma Hogge (8 pts) also produced down the stretch for Kerr-Vance.
“Kennedy [Adcock] didn’t hit her three-pointers in the first half, but she stayed confident, kept shooting and started making them in the second half,” Ross said. “I was also able to use the whole team tonight, which I really like to do.”
Kerr-Vance went on to outscore Community Christian by 10 points in the third quarter, sporting an extremely comfortable 24-point cushion heading into the final eight minutes of regulation. Morgan Lane led the Cyclones with 19 points on the night, while Ashley Hartsfield (10 pts) also reach double figures for Community Christian.
The Spartans’ earned a scrappy win Tuesday night after a long holiday break, but also missed a great deal of easy layups according to Ross. Therefore, the Spartans’ primary focus at Wednesday’s practice was shooting and getting back to the basics. The practice surely benefitted the Spartans, who could prove to be a dangerous team in conference play due to their ridiculous speed and defensive intensity.
The Spartans (7-6) will return to action when they host Faith Christian in a crucial 1A Carolina Independent Conference matchup Tuesday night.
