By Gene Schallenberg
Assistant Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE —
It took a little longer than usual, but with a little time and their stifling defense, the Lady Hornets eventually turned Tuesday’s game into another rout.
In what was a low-scoring affair in the early stages, Huntsville was able to get into a rhythm offensively and defensively and pull away from Summer Creek, eventually winning by yet another lopsided score, 62-29.
“We’ve got our goals,” Lady Hornets junior Myah Antwi said. “We’ve just got to take it a step at a time, just step up a rung of the ladder every time we play a game.”
Throughout the first few minutes, Huntsville (8-0 in District 18-4A, 20-5 overall) was held in check by the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Hornets managed just five points in the first four minutes of the opening period, which had them tied at 5 apiece.
“Tonight we missed a big part of what we do. Demi (Turner) didn’t get to play because of medical reasons, so we kind of started out a little sluggish, but the girls picked it up, which is good because other girls need to step it up on the team,” Lady Hornets coach Jay Oliphant said.
“A big part of our game is tempo and for the past couple of games and not just tonight, we’re pushing the ball up the floor at times too slowly. Our biggest thing is getting the ball up, we’re going to find gaps and creases and penetrate and shoot little jumpers in the lane. In the first half we didn’t do that very well. But we did better in the second half.”
Once the Lady Hornets were able to force a few turnovers with their full-court press, they hit a bunch of easy layups and stretched their lead.
Huntsville built some defensive momentum toward the end of the first quarter, allowing just one field goal in the final five-plus minutes of the period, which carried over into the second.
As the Lady Hornets began to cause problems for Summer Creek at the beginning of the second quarter, they converted off steals and poor Lady Bulldogs passes.
“The girls feed off those easy buckets,” Oliphant said. “The more we can steal it and get a layup, the hungrier they get. We try to get as many steals and layups as we can possibly get.”
Huntsville senior guard Ceidra Coleman led the charge, scoring a pair of buckets after slashing her way through the Lady Bulldog defense.
Quickly, Huntsville kept pulling away and suddenly had a double-digit advantage with time to go before the break.
“We started to put pressure on them. We try to get them frustrated and play our game,” said Antwi, who was one of nine Lady Hornets to score, adding eight points to the cause. “If we get them to play our game, they don’t know how to adjust.”
The Lady Hornets’ defense kept Summer Creek from getting decent looks at the basket. Huntsville then went ahead by 20 points with a little more than two minutes to go before the break.
The only points the Lady Bulldogs could muster in the second period came on free throws.
It wasn’t until the 6:17 mark of the third that Summer Creek guard Katelynn Johnson snapped a Lady Bulldogs shooting drought that spanned a little more than 10 minutes, going back to the final seconds of the first period. By then, Huntsville had taken advantage and had built a 37-10 lead by that point.
The Lady Hornets were able to coast to the final buzzer with reserves getting plenty of playing time.
With six games left in the regular season, Huntsville is perched atop the district standings. The Lady Hornets travel to Caney Creek on Friday night for another district contest.
