Yes, there’s the scoreboard, but there are other ways of winning, too, according to Madison County girls’ coach Dan Lampe.
Are you beating your opponent down the court? Are you boxing out in the paint? Are you crashing the boards?
Winning these little battles translates into victories.
“I feel that we can win every game if we outwork our opponents,” said Lampe.
The coach said his squad did just that in the second half Tuesday, when his team bounced back from a five-point halftime deficit by soundly defeating Elbert County 60-43 in “The Inferno.”
“It’s rare that you can outwork an Elbert County team, but I felt we outworked them in the second half.”
Indeed, the Lady Raiders, who led 14-11 after one quarter, but were outscored 15-7 in the second, wasted little time erasing the deficit in the third quarter.
Madison County opened the second half on an 11-0 run to pull ahead 32-26. They never trailed again.
Lampe said there was no talk of strategy in the locker room at the half. Instead, it was all about effort.
“We didn’t talk about any X’s and O’s,” said Lampe, who said his team stepped up the intensity after intermission. “… We got many good second looks in the second half by crashing the boards.”
Several Lady Raiders turned in noteworthy performances Tuesday. Leelee Sorrells led the team with 18 points. She also grabbed nine boards.
“Leelee really came alive,” said Lampe. “She’s been our most stable scorer so far this year.”
Molly Glaze tallied 17, scoring a number of second-half points at the free throw line to help ice the game.
“Molly did a great job in the second half handling the pressure, and so did Haley (Gordon),” said Lampe.
Gordon finished the night with four points, five assists and four steals.
Elise Coberly, who got into foul trouble while defending in the post, nearly recorded a double-double Tuesday, finishing with eight points and 10 rebounds, including four offensive boards.
Macy Rutledge scored 12 points Tuesday, including nine in the third quarter.
LADY RAIDERS DOWN DOUGLAS
Madison County’s win Tuesday night lifted the team to 2-1 on the year. The Lady Raiders opened the season with a loss to powerhouse Chamblee, then defeated Douglas at home 57-45 Nov. 22.
Scorers in the Douglas game included: Coberly, 19; Sorrells, 18; Glaze, 9; Gordon, 4; Emmie Fouche, 4; and Mya Moss, 3.
Madison County was cold from the field against Douglas, hitting 38 percent of its shots, including 3-of-18 from beyond the arc. The team hit just 56 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe.
“Everything considered, we should have won by 20, but poor shooting and foul trouble really hindered us,” said Lampe.
The coach praised the play of several players against Douglas.
“Leelee (Sorrells) played strong in the post, scoring a lot with her back to the basket,” said Lampe. “Elise (Coberly) and Molly (Glaze) penetrated the lane well, along with hitting a few threes.”
Lampe said the team needs to do a better job stopping points in the paint, “whether from penetration, post feeds or offensive boards.”
“I did like our intensity in the game, and I felt we out worked them for the most part,” said Lampe.
HOPEFUL FOR BROWN’S RETURN
Lampe said that the team hopes to have standout post player Nekeia Brown back in action sometime in January. Brown suffered a pre-season knee injury. Lampe said she could potentially take the court again for the Lady Raiders in six weeks.
SHOWDOWN WITH CEDAR AHEAD
Madison County will host Cedar Shoals Saturday. The game time is set for 1:30 p.m. Games were moved up Saturday so that fans can watch Madison County basketball and the SEC football championship at 4 p.m. between Georgia and top-ranked LSU.
JV GIRLS DROP OPENER
The Madison County junior varsity girls dropped their season opener by just one point Tuesday at Elbert County, despite being outscored 24-2 in the second period. The team fell 42-41, after trailing 26-10 at the half.
“You’ve got to have some heart to pull back and get close like that,” said JV coach Jackson Russum of his squad’s second-half effort.
