By Michael Lindsay
A strong defensive effort led the #4 Upperman Lady Bees to a 54-35 victory at Stone Memorial Friday in District 7AAA play.
“It was a little sloppy on our end,” said Upperman head coach Dana McWilliams. “It felt like we were a little off all night, but we found a way to put it together to get a nice win. If you watched us last year, we did a lot of that.”
The Lady Bees improve to 22-3 overall and 7-2 in district play while Stone Memorial falls to 7-19 and 0-10 in league competition.
“Stone’s not an 0-9 team anywhere else, and none of us thought that coming in,” McWilliams said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for them.”
Leading the way for Upperman was another stellar performance from Abigail Johnson, who posted 16 points and 9 rebounds. Gracie Butler had 15 points and 3 rebounds in the victory.
“Gracie’s had a really good second half of the season,” McWilliams said. “It took her a little longer to get going, but we knew at some point she was going to be a special player. It’s nice to have the older leadership we have and bring in the freshmen.”
Upperman took control early and never looked back as they opened the game with three 3-pointers to lead 9-2 less than 3 minutes in.
The Lady Bees held a 20-6 advantage after the first period and led 33-15 at halftime.
Upperman pushed their lead to 41-26 after three quarters, winning by a 54-35 final.
The Lady Bees continue district play Friday as they return to The Hive to host Cumberland County (18-6, 6-3). Stone Memorial hosts Macon County (7-15, 1-8) Friday.
Upperman (54): Abigail Johnson 16, Gracie Butler 15, Jayla Cobb 9, Gracie Hamilton 6, Taylor Dolente 3, Bella Stiles 3, Bella Mullins 2
Stone Memorial (35): Ashley Whittenburg 9, Adison Howard 6, Rachel Houston 6, Madison Lefebvre 5, Kortney Headrick 4, Kailee Waldo 3, Maggie Hazelton 2
