DeKalb County Swept By Smith County

Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis

The DeKalb County Tigerettes held a six-point lead with just over a minute remaining in regulation against Smith County on Tuesday, but ultimately fell 62-55 in overtime to the Lady Owls.

The game got off to a slow start offensively, as DeKalb County trailed 9-8 heading into the second quarter. The offensive struggles were due in part to Kadee Ferrell’s absence, as she came down awkwardly on her ankle and had to miss most of the quarter to get it checked out.

The second quarter saw the Tigerettes build some steam at both ends of the floor, and it resulted in a 22-17 halftime lead over Smith. Both teams came out of the locker room on fire on offense, but it was still DeKalb in front 42-40 as the game headed into the fourth quarter.

There, the Tigerettes appeared to pull away, as they led 53-47 with just over a minute remaining in the game. Smith County’s pressure started to get to DeKalb however, as they scored six points in short order to tie the game and force overtime. The Lady Owls closed the game on a 15-2 run to win 62-55.

Ella VanVranken led the way with a game-high 20 points for the Tigerettes, while Natalie Snipes added 11 on the strength of three three-pointers.

“We did some good things, but it came down to those young players not knowing how to close the game out,” said DCHS head coach Danny Fish. “We had a lot of bad turnovers there near the end of the fourth quarter…when you’re turning the ball over and it’s a dead-ball turnover, that’s one thing. We were giving up live-ball turnovers, which equaled points for them.”

Ferrell ended the game with two points, and while she tried playing the second half, Fish made the decision to pull her and sit her out knowing that they have important district games they’ll need her for down the road.

“I put her back out there and she was kind of gimpy,” Fish said. “I just didn’t want her to gut it out. We’ve got a lot of big games in front of us, and this was just another game…hopefully, she’ll be ready for Friday.”

Short-term memory will be the focus for Fish, but as he points out, the first thing they’ll have to do is identify the problems so they can flush them.

“We want to forget it, but not totally,” Fish said. “We need to make adjustments. Those kids on the floor, we just have to take care of the ball a little better…I’m proud of the way the kids fought at times. We only had one upperclassmen on the floor. I thought that’s what hurt us.”

The Tigers battled Smith County hard, but the third quarter proved to be the difference in a 76-66 win for the Owls.

A close game throughout the entirety of the first half, both teams failed to take more than a two-possession lead and it resulted in a 35-34 lead at the break for the visiting Owls.

The third quarter is where Smith pulled away, as they caught fire from the perimeter and knocked down five three-pointers to take a 62-48 lead into the fourth quarter. The Tigers battled back, but they couldn’t overcome the deficit in a 76-66 defeat.

Stetson Agee scored 19 points to lead DeKalb County, while Brayden Antoniak scored 18 points. Nathaniel Crook provided 10 points off the bench.

“Defensively, we’ve got to get better at rotating,” said Tigers head coach John Sanders. “Too many times, we got caught standing and watching…they’ve got good guard play and they shoot the ball well. You can’t get caught standing and watching against a team that moves the ball that well.”

Crook’s boost off the bench provided a spark for the Tigers, as he scored all 10 of his points in the second half. While the loss isn’t ideal, the senior earned himself more minutes in Sanders’ opinion moving forward.

“Crook stepped up and seized an opportunity,” Sanders said. “He played well tonight for us, so I’m really proud for him. He’s a good kid, so I hope he continues that play down the road.”

It wasn’t a bad performance for the Tigers, but with district play set to begin on Friday, Sanders knows they’ve got work to do ahead of their date with Stone Memorial.

“We played pretty hard, we just have to clean some things up defensively,” Sanders said. “You’re either winning or you’re learning…you can’t be just letting one loss affect the way you play the next game. We’re going to watch film and work on some things tomorrow.”

DeKalb County will be in action again on Friday, when they host Stone Memorial to open district play.

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