by Rusty Ellis
The Red Boiling Springs Lady Bulldogs advanced to the District 7A semifinals after their 63-42 win over Gordonsville on Tuesday night.
A close game early, the Tigerettes kept the game close with a 12-point first half from Kamara Young, and by the time halftime rolled around, it was just a 29-25 lead for the Lady Bulldogs.
The third quarter is where RBS began to put some distance between themselves and Gordonsville on the scoreboard, as threes by Bailey Massengille and Chloe Powell sandwiched a three-point play by Claire Fleming to push the lead to 42-29 heading into the fourth quarter.
There, the Lady Bulldogs continued to add onto the lead thanks to a pair of threes by Powell, and RBS cruised to the district semifinals with a 21-point win over the Tigerettes.
Five players finished in double-figures for Red Boiling Springs, as Fleming and Massengille each scored 15 points. Powell added 13 of her own, and Bre Thompson and Kennedy Marshall both scored 10 points.
Young paced Gordonsville with a game-high 21 points, but no other Tigerette finished with more than six points.
While she didn’t think her team played their best ball in the first half, RBS head coach Terra Pryor says she was pleased with how they came out in the third and took control of the game.
“I was a little upset with my team, I didn’t think they had much intensity at the defensive end of the floor,” Pryor said. “I think (Gordonsville) only scored four points in the third quarter, so I thought the girls responded well to that…overall I thought it was a really good game and we’re excited that we get to keep our season alive.”
The big run in the third quarter was fueled by the defensive intensity that the Lady Bulldogs came out with, and Pryor mentioned how much it helped having everyone contribute in the scoring column.
“Claire Fleming really got it going and Bre Thompson played really well for us too,” Pryor said. “Bailey Massengille drove the ball and hit a couple threes, but I think what led to that was when the defensive urgency picked up…when you have urgency on defense, the offense will come. If you’re bad on defense, you’ll be in trouble.”
The Bulldogs followed that up with a play-in win of their own in 61-58 fashion over the Clarkrange Buffaloes.
A much closer contest from start-to-finish saw the Bulldogs take a three-point lead at 16-13 at the end of the first quarter, but the second belonged to the Buffaloes, who outscored RBS 18-13 to take a 31-29 lead into halftime.
The Buffaloes then took a four-point lead early in the third after a bucket from Jack Cordell, but RBS closed the frame on a 12-3 run to push the lead up to 43-38 entering the fourth.
There, Clarkrange continued to battle, but just couldn’t keep Colton Copass off the glass, as he finished with a game-high 21 points in the three-point Bulldog victory.
Chris Hackney added 16 points for RBS and Riley Thompson scored 10 points of his own. Cordell paced Clarkrange with 20, while Bryton Swallows followed close behind with 19.
It wasn’t head coach Andrew Mullinix’s favorite defensive effort from his team, but at the end of the day, a win is a win.
“I think we’re way better defensively, as far as pressuring the ball and limiting good looks,” Mullinix said. “You’ll take them however they come at this time of the year, so I’m pleased with getting out of here with a win for sure.”
Copass put together another big game for the Bulldogs, following up his stellar effort at Pickett County. Mullinix says when he’s focused and ready to play, he’s as good as any other player in the district.
“He’s a pretty good player, he’s a first-teamer for a reason,” Mullinix said. “Overall, I’m proud of him, and I’m proud of all the guys for the effort they put together tonight.”
Up next for both RBS teams is Clay County. The Lady Bulldogs will battle Clay on Thursday at 6 P.M. and the boys will face off on Friday at the same time.
