Daniel Boone trips up Lady 'Landers

By Wes Holtsclaw
STAR CORRESPONDENT
wholtsclaw@starhq.com

   Turnovers are a team's worse enemy and really hurt the Cloudland Lady Highlanders Tuesday night.
   The Big Seven Conference champion Daniel Boone Lady Trailblazers took advantage of Cloudland's miscues in the second quarter and continued to hold on to a 66-56 victory.
   "We kept turning it over to them," said Cloudland coach Matt Birchfield. "They really pressured us with their man-to-man defense and it got to us. Almost every time we turned it over, they got points."
   "I thought we played well," he said. "You take those away and we might have got them at the end."
   Said Daniel Boone coach Tim Campbell: "It's great anytime you can win against a team like Cloudland. Our girls really respect them and we knew it would be a game since they have a great shot of being in the state tournament. Matt's kids play hard and they do a great job."
   "I think we had a little more depth than they did," he said. "And with both of us playing back to back games, that might of had something to do with it. It was anybody's game down to the bitter end."
   Cloudland opened the contest on a 7-0 run before Boone got things kicking.
   Four big buckets from Amy Storie put the Lady 'Landers up 11-3 before Ashley Barnett and Allison Langrel pulled the Lady Blazers back in their face. A Tara Hanson trey gave the blue and gold a two-point lead at the end of the period.
   Cloudland went up by five to open the second quarter, but Kacie Letterman and Laura Hilton really gave Daniel Boone a big boost with their outside shooting.
   Turnovers and rebounds really troubled Cloudland down the stretch before Jamie Perry clinched the Lady Blazers a seven point lead into the second half.
   Boone went on a roll in the half with some big points off of turnovers. Perry and Jamie Massengill pushed the Lady Blazers to a 12-point lead by the end of the third.
   Storie and Webb had some huge buckets for Cloudland to open the fourth, closing in as much as six. But Letterman and Langrel kept on rolling despite some big treys from Hanson at the end to wind it out at the end.
   Storie led all scores with her big 21 points in the game, while Hanson tallied 17. Stachia Johnson added ten for Cloudland.
   "Amy played well tonight and Tara made some big shots outside there at the end," Birchfield said. "I'm real happy with our first quarter, but we just fell down there in the second."
   Letterman, Langrel and Perry led Boone in double digits with 16, 12 and 11 respectively. It was a good challenge for the AAA club who is looking to make some noise down the road.
   "It's very good down there," Campbell said. "Greeneville and Morristown West are very good. We just hope to get the job done at that level like they have and we're excited with the opportunity."