At tip-off, North Oconee looked like Titans towering over the much smaller Lady Eagles and used that size difference to its advantage.
From the get-go, North Oconee controlled the paint and crashed the boards. But that did not stop the Lady Eagles from keeping it close as they closed out the quarter 12-7, only down by five points.
“I really liked the effort,” East Jackson coach Katie David said.
In second period, junior guard, Kelsey Palette came alive. Palette did not just drop four points, but she was dishing it out to her teammates to knock down a handful of jumpers. She was hustling up and down the court stealing the ball and causing disruption in Lady Titan offense. Palette and Hydrea Rucker led the team with six points a piece at the end of the night.
It was not enough for the Lady Eagles. North Oconee ended the half with an 11-6 run that would double the deficit, making it 29-19.
Size was the ultimate factor in this match-up. The Lady Titans used this to drive to basket and draw fouls where they went 10-14 from the free-throw line. That was a significant difference compared to the 1-10 showing from the line by the Eagles.
“I feel if we would have hit those, it would have been a different ball game,” David said.
The Lady Titans ran away with the victory, holding the Eagles scoreless in the fourth quarter of play. This capped off a flawless region campaign for North Oconee.
“We made a lot of mental mistakes that made them look better,” David said.
