Story and Photos by Kailee Means
DeKalb County split their doubleheader on Monday night against Smith County in Carthage.
The DeKalb County Lady Tigers defeated the Smith County Lady Owls 54-42.
The Lady Tigers played a good, physical game, as Smith County led 24-22 after the first half. In the second half, DCHS prevailed and outscored the Lady Owls 32-18.
“I challenged them at halftime,” said DCHS head coach Danny Fish. “We have lost to Smith the last few times we have played them, and I told them that we just got to fight.”
Bryan signee Kadee Ferrell led the way with a 14-point, 17-rebound double-double, while Ella VanVranken added 13 points of her own. Avery Agee rounded out the trio with 11 points.
Emma Enoch paced the Lady Owls with 11, and Chloe Collins added eight of her own.
The Lady Tigers are set to take on Macon at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night, while Smith County will be at Portland.
“We need to come in tomorrow with a good game plan and play hard,” said Fish. “We got Warren at home on Thursday so we are still preparing for the following weeks.”
The DeKalb County Tigers fell to Smith County in a thrilling double overtime game 67-63.
The Tigers came out strong in the first half and outscored the Owls 30-24. Smith battled back and outscored the Tigers 25-19 in the second half, culminating in a Taylor Dickerson three with 7.9 seconds left in regulation to tie the game 49-49.
DeKalb County junior Robert Wheeler put a shot up at the last second of overtime to send the Tigers into double overtime, where Smith County closed out the win. The Owls outscored the Tigers 18-14 between both overtime periods.
“We probably had more turnovers than we did points,” said DCHS head coach John Sanders. “Our guys played really hard. (Smith County) is a good team and have won a lot of ball games, but it is disappointing to lose that. It’s a tough game to lose, but props to my guys for not giving up.”
Stetson Agee led the way with 15 points, while Wheeler added 14 points. Brayden Antoniak scored 11 points, and Jordan Young scored 10.
Dennis West posted the game-high mark for scoring with 25 points for Smith County, and Dickerson scored 17 points.
The Tigers will now turn their focus back to district play with a matchup against Macon County.
“Well we just got to rest, try to get healthy and be ready to go,” said Sanders.
