By Michael Lindsay
A strong second-half performance was the difference for the Cumberland County Lady Jets on Tuesday as they won at Stone Memorial, 63-38.
“We knew coming over here was hard,” said CCHS head coach Kim Cram-Torres. “We knew they would play hard and it wouldn’t be a quick win; we’d have to play four quarters and we did.”
Senior point guard Emery Baragona led the Lady Jets (17-5, 6-2) with 25 points in the victory. Abby Houston and Jalynn Baldwin also hit double figures with 11 and 10 points.
Stone Memorial (7-17, 0-8) was led by 12 points from sophomore guard Adison Howard and 9 from forward Kailee Waldo.
Stone Memorial jumped out to a 7-point lead (14-7) late in the first period on a Howard and-one. The Lady Panthers held their lead until the 3:41 mark of the second period as an Abby Houston three-pointer tied the game at 16.
Cumberland County broke through to take an 18-16 lead with 3:08 left until halftime via a Jalynn Baldwin layup assisted by sister Grace.
The teams traded baskets through the rest of the second quarter with Cumberland County holding a 29-25 halftime advantage.
“It started with Grace Baldwin in the second quarter,” Cram-Torres said on her team building a lead. “She really made sure we made a run with her defensive pressure. We knew we’d eventually be able to wear them down.”
Stone Memorial stayed within striking distance early in the second half as a Waldo and-one cut the SMHS deficit to 32-30 with less than 3 minutes remaining in the third period.
The Lady Jets closed the third quarter strong as back-to-back Baragona baskets, a Houston and-one and a Grace Baldwin transition layup pushed the CCHS lead to 40-34 by the end of the third period.
Cumberland County dialed in on both ends to start the fourth quarter as they went on a 14-2 run in the first 4 minutes of the final period to lead 54-36. The Lady Jets outscored Stone Memorial 23-4 in the fourth quarter to win by a 63-38 final.
“This really gives us the confidence we need,” Cram-Torres said. “Every game in district play is extremely important. You can’t have any letdowns.”
Up next for the Lady Jets is a non-district game at Pickett County (14-7) on Friday.
“That’s another tough game that’s going to prepare us for the tough environments of going to Livingston and Upperman,” Cram-Torres said. “Pickett is right there to help prepare us for that.”
Stone Memorial hits the road to White County on Friday.
Cumberland County (63): Emery Baragona 25, Abby Houston 11, Jalynn Baldwin 10, Grace Baldwin 8, Aliyah Hawkins 7, Daminica Beal 2
Stone Memorial (38): Adison Howard 12, Kailee Waldo 9, Rachel Houston 8, Kara VonAchen 2, Paige Roberts 2, Kortney Headrick 2, Emily Hazelton 2, Ashley Whittenburg 1
