Visiting Loganville High School saw all it wanted to see of Saboyce Shelton Tuesday night.
The Apalachee High School senior scored 34 points as the Lady Wildcats improved a program best 6-0 to start the season with a 74-59 victory. Shelton scored 22 points in the second half as AHS simply had too much fire power for the Lady Devils.
“Saboyce is just a very good basketball player,” said coach Michael Parks. “She is a good all-around player. She can score on the blocks or knock down the three-pointer. When she shoots, she’s pretty accurate. I’m always proud of the effort she gives.”
Shelton had four baskets from three-point range Tuesday night.
The Lady Wildcats would trail only one time in the contest when Loganville took a 3-2 lead at the 6:58 mark of the first quarter. From that point, it was all AHS.
Parks saw his team move in front by seven after the first quarter and 11 by halftime. Even when the Lady Devils went on a 9-0 run in the third quarter, it only cut their deficit to 49-30. Shelton promptly stopped any thoughts of a rally with another three-pointer.
“Once we get rolling, we can really score some points,” said Parks. “We changed our defense a little and tried a new look. We wanted to work on it and have it ready for January and region. Last year Loganville used the three (pointer) against us and they did it in the first game this year. We tried to run our guards out at them. We knew if they started making threes, they could get back in the game.”
While Shelton was the one who stole the show Tuesday night, Parks had significant contributions from several players. Kiarra Sanford finished with 12 points while Ryan Burke and Jasmin Bell both scored eight. Tamaica Morrow added seven points while Aliyah Taylor scored three and Katie Dean finished with two.
“Over time, you try to piece a team together and piece players together, Parks said. “If you can compete in this region, you can compete in the state. I’ve seen other teams from our region do that. It’s been a building process for us but I think we are on the verge of something special.”
The Lady Cats will receive two tests this weekend when they travel to Cedar Shoals Friday (7 p.m.) and host Archer Saturday (4 p.m.)
“Our goal is not to go undefeated,” Parks said. “Our goal is to make it to state. There is a lot of positive energy right now around the program. Everyone from the players, parents, students and administration has been positive.”
