Lady Junior Cyclones get job done

By Ivan Sanders
Star Correspondent

   It took only a quarter for the Jr. Lady Cyclones to get warmed up. The Jr. Warriors only wished they could have kept them on ice a little longer.
   T.A. Dugger was only able to put eight points on the board in the opening quarter, while the Jr. Warriors managed to hang tough by scoring seven of their own. That was the last time the Warriors got a glimpse of the Cyclones the rest of the evening.
   "Any time you play Happy Valley you had better be ready to play a full game," said Cyclone coach David Hilton after his squad's 46-27 victory. "They play hard and are well-coached. I am pleased with our overall performance and I think Takisha Avery and Cameron Crapps really played well for us today."
   Avery, who stood head and shoulders above most of the Warriors, took control of the game in the second quarter by scoring 10 points on mainly easy layups. Crapps, meanwhile, was able to handle the pressure defense of the Warriors and be the floor general for the Cyclones from her point-guard position.
   "We made too many turnovers on offense, which gave T.A. Dugger too many easy buckets," commented Warrior mentor Dana Hill. "I really believe our defense played as well as can be expected against the Cyclones."
   The Jr. Lady Cyclones extended a small one-point lead to 12 by the half as they outscored the Lady Warriors 18 to seven in the second period to go in at halftime with a 26-14 edge.
   The Jr. Lady Warriors hung tough in the third as they were able to match the Cyclones pretty much bucket for bucket with Emily Good scoring four and Randi Williams three for the Warriors. The Cyclones led 36-23 entered the fourth quarter of action.
   Avery closed the door in the fourth as she added six more points to her game-high 20. Eden Treadway also had a solid game for the Jr. Cyclones as she scored eight on the evening. The Lady Cyclones watched as the clock expired giving them a convincing win.
   Williams paced the Jr. Lady Warriors with 10 while Good had six and Shanna Raines netted five.
   In the girls' seventh-grade contest, the Lady Cyclones defeated the Lady Warriors by a score of 54-22. Courtney Towle and Victoria Hopson scored 13 points each for the winners. Marti Bush added six in the winning effort.
   The Lady Cyclones as a team combined for 24 steals with Hopson picking the Lady Warriors pocket seven times and Towle adding five steals. The winning margin was a result of excellent shooting from the floor as T.A. Dugger shot 24 of 60 from the field, good for a 40 percent shooting average.
   Hopson and Mikael Oliver were like vacuum cleaners on the board with Hopson snagging seven boards and Oliver added five.
   "I really feel good about how we played tonight considering it was opening night for us," added Lady Cyclone head coach Doug Fritz. "The team has worked extremely hard to prepare for this season."
   Hanna Banks scored eight and Emily Good contributed six in a losing cause for the Lady Warriors. Jennifer Black added four as the Warriors were simply overpowered by a smothering pressure defense.