By Michael Lindsay
Less than 18 hours after a pair of defeats at Upperman, Stone Memorial traveled to Smithville Saturday afternoon and swept DeKalb County in District 7-3A play. The Lady Panthers defeated the Tigerettes 63-56 while 42 points from Cade Capps led the Panthers to a 68-57 victory.
Girls
The Stone Memorial Lady Panthers got back in the district win column Saturday afternoon as they won at DeKalb County, 68-57.
“Im super proud of the girls,” said Stone Memorial head coach Mike Buck. “That was a physical and mental gut check, and we responded. They (DeKalb) played last night, too, so there was fatigue for both teams.”
Junior forward Kortney Headrick led the Lady Panthers with 23 points in the victory while Ella VanVranken scored 29 for DeKalb County.
“Kortney plays with a poise about her,” said Buck. “She scored 23 points, but that’s not where she shined in my eyes; she moved her feet defensively. She did a good job of getting position on the glass and getting rebounds for us.”
An Adison Howard buzzer-beater gave Stone Memorial a 17-16 lead after one quarter. DeKalb County held a lead over the Lady Panthers until late in the second period as Stone Memorial hit three three-pointers and a free throw in the final 1:43 of the first half to take a 38-30 lead into the locker room.
“Offensively, we were consistent with what we did, but had a few defensive breakdowns,” said Buck.
A Headrick basket with 5:52 left in the third period extended the Lady Panthers’ lead to 12 points at 42-30. Stone Memorial led 49-38 entering the fourth quarter.
DeKalb County battled back in the final frame as an Ella VanVranken layup cut Stone Memorial’s lead to 52-47 with 4:49 remaining. The Lady Panthers answered with a backdoor layup from Headrick on the ensuing possession to push their advantage back to three possessions at 54-47.
The Tigerettes cut their deficit back to five points (58-53) with 53 seconds left, but got no closer as Stone Memorial controlled the final minute to win by a 63-56 final score.
“Closing out a game is a skill you have to learn,” said Buck. “We don’t want to be careless with the ball and force things with a lead late, but we do still want to be hungry and take advantage of situations when we see them.”
Stone Memorial improves to 9-12 overall and 2-4 in District 7-3A play with wins over #1 White County and DeKalb County. The Tigerettes fall to 8-12 and 0-5.
“All of these district games are valuable, and we feel like we’ve let three of them get away from us,” said Buck. “A few possessions here and there and we had a chance to win those. We’re right there; we have everything we need. We just have to match people from a competitiveness standpoint.”
White County is alone in first place in District 7-3A followed by Upperman in second, Cumberland County in third and Livingston Academy in fourth.
Stone Memorial is scheduled to host White County (22-2, 5-1) on Tuesday while DeKalb County is scheduled to travel to Cumberland County (15-5, 3-2).
Boys
Less than a day after falling on a buzzer-beater at Upperman, the Stone Memorial Panthers responded Saturday afternoon with a 68-57 victory at DeKalb County behind 42 points and 9 rebounds by junior guard Cade Capps.
“This is one of the toughest places to come play a basketball game,” said Stone Memorial head coach Neil Capps. “They have a great environment and support. There’s just something different here; they shot the lights out. After an emotional letdown last night, investing so much into that Upperman game and having to go on the road less than 24 hours, I’m really proud of how our guys came out and fought.”
Capps’ 42-point performance comes on the heels of a 23-point effort at Upperman less than 19 hours prior.
“The thing I’m most impressed with is what he went through last night with the bodies he took, and to come back out tonight and do that,” said coach Capps. “He didn’t settle for the three; he just went to the rim. His teammates got him the ball in good spots.”
Along with Capps’ 42, DeKalb County’s Connor Close scored 30 points for the Tigers.
“He had the majority of that in the first half; he’s a really good player,” said coach Capps. “We did a much better job of that in the second half. You’re not going to completely shut him down, you just hope you can limit his easy looks.”
DeKalb County opened with a 6-0 lead before Stone Memorial responded to hold an 18-15 advantage after the first period.
The Tigers didn’t go away quietly as a pair of Close three-pointers gave DeKalb County a 25-22 lead with 4:18 left in the second period. DeKalb County held their lead over the final 4 minutes as they took a 33-28 lead into halftime.
“It was pretty simple; I told them it was because of our poor defense,” said coach Capps. “We didn’t defend on the ball, help-side, anything. It wasn’t the prettiest; we really had to fight our way through that.”
Stone Memorial opened the third period on an 11-0 run in the opening 3 minutes to take a 39-33 advantage over DeKalb County. The Panthers led 48-40 entering the fourth quarter.
A Wyatt Grothe three-pointer with 7 minutes remaining pushed Stone Memorial’s lead to double digits at 51-40. DeKalb County battled back within 4 points (61-57) with 39.7 seconds left via a Seth Fuson three-pointer, but the Panthers held off the Tigers from there as they won by a 68-57 final score.
“I’m really proud of the guys down the stretch,” said coach Capps. “Brady had four big points in the fourth quarter and Wyatt had five. Preston hit three big free throws. We had senior leadership closing the game out.”
Stone Memorial improves to 14-8 overall and 4-2 in District 7-3A play while DeKalb County falls to 9-12 and 1-4.
Upperman sits alone atop the district standings followed by Stone Memorial and White County tied in second and Livingston Academy in fourth.
Stone Memorial is scheduled to host White County (9-9, 4-2) on Tuesday while DeKalb County is scheduled to travel to Cumberland County (3-14, 0-5).
