Lady Rangers drop Huskies
By Marvin Birchfield
STAR CORRESPONDENT
BAILEYTON -- After a dismal first half of play,
the Unaka Lady Rangers were able to bounce back and grab the
victory over North Greene in a 65-55 final on Friday night.
"We changed our defense in the second half, and
we got some stops, made some shots to help turn the game around,"
said Unaka coach Kenneth Chambers.
In the first quarter, Heather Taylor led the
Rangers by knocking down a couple of baskets and a free throw
to help Unaka from being prey for the Huskies.
North Greene stayed neck and neck thanks to Patricia
Penley, who scored on three three-pointers, making it 16-16
after the first period of play.
The second quarter was disastrous for the Rangers,
as they seemed a little flat-footed with their only offense
coming from Julie Roberson.
"We came out and nothing seemed to work," Chambers
said. "We went to man and they were hitting on us, and then
we went to a zone and they hit threes against us."
The Rangers had dug themselves a hole by halftime,
trailing 32-22, as there was not much enthusiasm in the faces
of the Unaka squad.
"In the first half we were the aggressors, and
then in the third period we started laying off and they became
the aggressors," said North Greene coach James Buchannan.
In the third quarter the bell had sounded and
the fight was on, with Unaka coming out swinging and delivering
blows.
Whatever halftime speech was given by Coach Chambers
definitely had some impact. The Rangers came out with fire
in their eyes and intensity in their play.
"We came out in the first half not ready to play,
and then our coach talked to us and motivated us to get the
win," said Roberson.
Unaka outscored the Huskies 16-4, and grabbed
the lead 38-36 with 3:30 left in the third.
The Rangers had built a six-point lead by the
end of the quarter, and continued on in the final period by
coming out and receiving a three-point shot from Coty Townsend.
Unaka went up by as many as 13 with Roberson
leading the way with 14 points, while Danielle Ensor had 11
and Kelley Taylor finishing with 10.
"I've been working my few days off, and it's
my first game back and it feels good," said Roberson.
