Madison County sought an easy victory against Grayson in the second round of the Deep South Classic, and that’s exactly what it got.
Kayla Freeman scored a season-high 23 points Tuesday and grabbed 12 boards in a 57-38 rout of the Class AAAA Lady Rams at Brookwood High School.
Madison County was to face Brookwood on Wednesday (results weren’t available at press time).
Lady Raider coach Dan Lampe said his team’s goal against Grayson was to lead by enough points after three quarters to bring the GHSA’s mercy rule into effect in the fourth quarter. Madison County (9-4) led 52-21 at the end of the third period, and the teams played an abbreviated final quarter.
“Yeah, you expect to win this one, so we did what we wanted to accomplish,” Lampe said.
Madison County buried Grayson early by taking a 17-1 lead after a quarter.
Guard Lauren Smith led the defensive effort with seven steals. She also scored 16 points.
Madison County’s defensive pressure forced Grayson into several five-second violations when it tried to in-bound the ball and 10-second violations when Grayson tried to bring the ball up the floor.
“I felt our defense really stepped up and put together three good quarters,” Lampe said.
Madison County returns to the court Jan. 8 for its subregion opener against Cedar Shoals.
Lampe said his team’s schedule to this point basically serves to build for the subregion schedule.
“We’re kind of looking at all these games right now like preseason games,” he said.
Lampe noted that his team will have the entire week to prepare for the Jan. 8 game with Cedar Shoals since there’s no game Tuesday.
“I like having that long week of practice,” he said. “We can get some things accomplished.”
•Northwest Whitfield 49, Madison Co. 42 (Dec. 28): Madison County held Northwest Whitfield standout Quaneisha McCurty to just four points but couldn’t slow the Lady Bruins’ transition game in a 49-42 loss Monday in the Deep South Classic.
Madison County led 21-19 at the half in a back-and-forth game, but trailed 32-31 heading into the fourth quarter. Northwest Whitfield outscored the Lady Raiders 17-11 in the final quarter, hitting several free throws down the stretch to salt away the victory in this battle of top 10 teams.
Much like Madison County’s loss to Loganville Dec. 15, the Lady Raiders gave up too many lay-ups and three-pointers off fast breaks.
“The only time they really scored was when we missed a shot and they transitioned,” Madison County coach Dan Lampe said.
The defensive breakdowns stem from too many players trying to ball-hawk after a missed shot, rather than getting back on defense, Lampe explained.
Lampe said there’s a fine line between being playing instinctively and playing disciplined.
“We’re making mistakes because we’re too aggressive,” he said.
Shantydra Arnold led the Lady Raiders with 14 points. She was 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Kayla Freeman added 13 points and Lauren Smith had 10.
MCHS 57, Grayson 38 Dec. 29
MCHS 17 20 15 5 — 57
GHS 1 14 6 17 — 38
Scorers: K. Freeman 23, Smith 16, Glaze 7, Arnold 6, Sorrells 2, LaZear 2, Brown 1
NW Whitefield 49, MCHS 42 (Dec. 28)
MCHS 6 15 10 11 — 42
NWW 11 8 13 17 — 49
Scorers: Arnold 14, Freeman 13, Smith 10, Glaze 3, LaZear 2
