Hampton thumps Happy Valley in WEMB Classic tournament action

By Travis Brown
STAR Staff

   The Hampton Lady Bulldogs put on a display of improvement Saturday night in the WEMB Holiday Classic hosted at Unicoi County High School, with a 61-43 thrashing of the Happy Valley Lady Warriors.
   Despite a sluggish performance at times, both teams put together some good play in a game that was characterized by solid shooting.
   The first quarter set the pace for the entire contest as the Lady Bulldogs took the momentum and never looked back. Bulldog star Keri Stout delivered a solid first quarter performance with 3 big baskets from 3 point land, posting a total of 12 points in the first quarter.
   She went on to add another 7 points in the second quarter contributing 19 points heading into the locker room. Stout's solid performance from the outside helped the Bulldogs to stretch their 18-4 first quarter lead into a 38-17 deficit at the break.
   Bulldog head coach Leslie Campbell is still hoping to take her team to another level as her team still has room for improvement, "Were still coming together," said Campbell "We still need to play 4 quarters and improve our foul shooting."
   After a sloppy third quarter by both teams, the Warriors would make a comeback bid in the fourth. Outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 17-9 in the frame, the Warriors were to little to late.
   For the Warriors, Kandra Roberts would cash in 15 points, while Brandi Dugger contributed 9. An overall look of sluggishness continues to plague the Warriors, showing signs of toughness at times, the Warriors look ready to break out of the slump, but the luck is just not there.
   The Bulldogs received double figures from Jodi Stout as she put home 10 points as the Lady Dogs spread the wealth to 11 different individuals on the scoresheet.
   Warrior skipper Ben Godsey was happy with his team's performance on the previous night, but remains confident that his club will get on track, "Its a tough situation playing 3 games in 3 days," said Godsey "The Intensity just wasn't there tonight."
   Godsey still feels that the tournament was a good investment for his team, "Overall we got some valuable experience, that's what were looking for."