Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes opened district play on Friday with a 64-58 win over Clay County.
Clarkrange took a slim 15-14 lead into the second quarter, where they found some more success on offense and outscored the Lady Bulldogs 18-11. This added up to a 33-25 lead at the halftime break.
The third quarter was the best defense quarter for the Lady Buffaloes, as the held Clay to just eight points en route to taking a 51-40 lead into the final frame. Clay’s physical style earned them several trips to the free throw line in the fourth, leading to them cutting the Lady Buffaloes’ lead down to two on multiple occasions, but it wouldn’t be enough as Clarkrange closed out the 64-58 win.
Addy Stowers led the way with 23 points for Clarkrange, while Mattie Bush added 18 points. Lauren Choate scored 12 points of her own, as Lamar Rogers’ squad opened district play with a big win.
“This was a good test for us,” Rogers said. “It’s a good win, and every game we play, we’re getting better…we didn’t do a good enough job on (Briley) Burchett, so we’ll make adjustments next time. We can do a lot better, but we’re pleased with a win.”
Burchett paced Clay County with 21 points, while Halle Buford scored 11 points.
For Rogers, the win to open district play is a good start, but his goals remain lofty for what he believes his team can achieve.
“We want to win all of them, and of course, you have to win the first one,” Rogers said. “We’re trying to win all of them because that builds momentum and confidence…we’re used to winning everything, but we’re not the only team out there.”
The Clay County Bulldogs used a dominant second-quarter showing to pull away early from the Buffaloes in a 74-37 win.
After leading 18-10 at the end of the first, the Bulldogs started the second quarter on a 13-3 run and outscored Clarkrange 21-3 to take a 39-13 lead into the locker room at half.
The offensive onslaught continued in the third, as Clay scored 27 points and pulled their starters early to allow for some younger players to get some experience in the game. When the final buzzer sounded, it was the visitors who pulled out the 74-37 victory.
Grant Strong led all scorers with 24 points, while Jeff Spivey added nine for the Bulldogs in a bounce-back effort for head coach Rob Edwards and company.
“Defensively, that’s the best game we’ve played so far,” Edwards said. “A district win on the road is always good…we’ve gotten a lot better defensively.”
With guys like Jimmy Burchett and Eli Smith in bigger roles than they were a year ago, there’s been an adjustment period for the Bulldogs. While they may not have hit their stride just yet, Edwards sees improvement with each game for these players in different spots.
“They’re growing into their roles,” Edwards said. “We need them to score a little bit to take a little pressure off of Grant, which they did tonight…night in and night out, he draws the most attention defensively, so we need those two, along with (Jeff Spivey) and (Keaton Arms) to do a good job.”
Clay County will be back in action on Tuesday at Red Boiling Springs, while Clarkrange will host Van Buren that same day.
