By Michael Lindsay
Defense was the name of the game Tuesday as the Upperman Lady Bees (18-2, 3-1) won at Cumberland County (13-5, 2-2) in District 7AAA play, 41-25.
“Defensively, we were pretty good most of the night,” said Upperman head coach Dana McWilliams. “That was the difference in the game. We know they’ve got everybody back from last year, and knew they had a lot of talent out there. Any win in this district is a big one.”
Upperman forward Abigail Johnson posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
The Lady Bees held a 10-5 lead over Cumberland County after the first period. Cumberland County hit two shots early in the second period before Upperman locked in defensively, holding the Lady Jets scoreless for the final 6:44 of the second quarter to lead 20-9 at halftime.
The scoreless streak continued into the third quarter, lasting 9:31 before a Jorja Anderson three-pointer broke Cumberland County’s dry spell to make the score 21-12 with 5:13 left in the third.
The trey sparked an 11-2 run by the Lady Jets to cut Upperman’s lead to 2 points (23-21) with 1:30 left in the third.
The Lady Bees held a 25-21 lead going into the fourth quarter, where they dialed in defensively and held Cumberland County to only 4 points in the frame to win 41-25. Upperman held Cumberland County scoreless the final 6 minutes of the contest.
“When you have a good team like Cumberland County, you know they’re going to make a run,” McWilliams said. “They made their run, then we held them to four points in the fourth quarter.”
With the win, Upperman sits at 18-2 overall and 3-1 in District 7AAA play. Tuesday’s game was Upperman’s first since the AP Top 10 poll was released, which has the Lady Bees #1 in the state in Class 3A.
“We just try to keep on going,” McWilliams said. “It’s nice for the kids, and something they can be proud of. They also understand it’s just a ranking. They put a lot of hard work in, and they can enjoy it. But it doesn’t change anything we do or any thoughts we have. Four of the top 8 are in this district, and that says a lot.”
Up next for Upperman is a showdown with UCR #3 Livingston Academy (14-3, 4-0) on Friday in Baxter.
“Livingston is on a roll and they’ve had a really good season so far,” McWilliams said. “They’re very well-coached and have a lot of good athletes.”
Cumberland County hits the road to DeKalb County (10-8, 2-2) on Friday.
Upperman (41): Abigail Johnson 12, Gracie Butler 9, Jayla Cobb 7, Bella Mullins 5, Bella Stiles 4, Taylor Dolente 4
Cumberland County (25): Jaylynn Baldwin 7, Emery Baragona 7, Aliyah Hawkins 5, Jorja Anderson 3, Abby Houston 3
