Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Clay County Lady Bulldogs earned a hard-fought 60-51 win over Jo Byrns on Monday in the Clay County Christmas Classic.
Both teams came out of the gate with some fire on offense, as the Lady Bulldogs got the better of it with a 17-14 lead heading into the second. The defense took over for Clay County in the second, as they held Jo Byrns to just eight points in the frame.
This added up to a 34-22 lead for the Lady Bulldogs at the break.
Clay held serve with a 14-13 advantage in the third, and then held on in the fourth despite being outscored 16-12 to win 60-51.
Madison Hayes led the way with 17 points, while Cherokee Upton added 16 for the Lady Bulldogs in a shorthanded effort.
“We had three starters out and some of the ones that played weren’t felling well either,” said CCHS head coach Matthew Walker. “They sucked it up and played hard whenever it mattered.”
Defensively, the second quarter proved to be the difference in the game for the Lady Bulldogs, something that Walker was happy to see considering the likelihood of them seeing Jo Byrns down the road again.
“Knowing this is a region opponent and a very good region opponent, we wanted to come out and show them how we play ball in this district,” Walker said. “I think we did that the first three quarters.”
The Bulldogs bounced back from their tough game against York with a 78-73 win over Hampton.
Just like the first game, both teams came out with some success on offense, and it was Clay County who held a 17-15 lead at the end of the first.
The Bulldogs outscored Hampton 20-14 in the second quarter as well, leading to a 37-29 at half for Clay County.
Hampton cut the lead in the third by outscoring the Bulldogs 18-17, and even though the visitors outscored Clay 26-24 in the fourth, it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. The hosting Bulldogs walked away with a 78-73 victory.
Grant Strong led the way with 46 points, while Jeff Spivey added 13 for Rob Edwards’ squad.
“I liked our level of intensity,” Edwards said. “That’s the most intense that we’ve come out in a game all season…I think we got in rhythm early and that carried on through the game.”
Like the girls game, the second quarter was instrumental in Clay’s victory, something Edwards says was due to his guys being more aggressive.
“We just started attacking the rim,” Edwards said. “We felt like they would foul us if we got the ball into the paint…we got into the bonus in the third, and that really helped us down the stretch.”
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday, as the Lady Bulldogs will take on Cumberland County (Ky) at 6 P.M. while the Bulldogs will face Bradley Central to follow.
