Sunbright Lady Tigers defeat Coalfield – advance in 3A Tournament
Sunbright earns birth in Regional; Season ends for Coalfield
By Terry Futrell
In what was perhaps their best performance of the season, the Sunbright Lady Tigers won a decisive 64-41 victory over the Coalfield Lady Jackets in the first round of the District 3A basketball tournament. With the win, the Lady Tigers advance to the semifinal round and are assured of a berth in the Region 2A tournament. The loss ended the season for the Lady Jackets.
Coalfield took a 2-0 lead, and then led 4-3 before the Lady Tiger offense found its groove. With the score tied 6-6 three minutes into the game, Sunbright’s host of outside shooters zeroed in from 3-point range. Lindsey Brown sank two treys in the first quarter, while Alexis Northrup and Holly Nitzschke each added a 3-pointer. With the offensive onslaught, Sunbright jumped out to an 18-10 lead in the first quarter.
Both teams opened the game with a zone defense. Coach Rusty Yaden threw a wrinkle into his Tiger defense, running a variant of the zone that opponents had not seen from Sunbright this season.
Sunbright’s zone proved very effective against Coalfield, which likes to drive inside and attack the basket. Though the Lady Jackets kept trying to go inside, they were throttled by the Sunbright defense, scoring only four 2-point baskets in the first quarter. When the Lady Jackets did make it into the paint, they were met by Sunbright’s Taylor Cox, who proved to be an almost impenetrable barrier. Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers passed the ball effectively around and over the Coalfield zone, eventually finding open 3-point attempts.
The second quarter was even tougher on the Coalfield offense as Sunbright limited the Lady Jackets to two baskets, including one 3-pointer by Leeah Henry. Jaclyn England hit back-to-back threes for Sunbright, while Taylor Cox and Lexi Griffith each added a 3-pointer for the Lady Tigers. England had eight points in the quarter, while Cox was close behind with seven points.
With a total of eight 3-point baskets in the first half, Sunbright took a commanding 39-23 lead over Coalfield.
Sunbright’s defense continued to dominate in the second half, limiting Coalfield to only five 2-point baskets in the half. Coalfield was held to only seven points in the third quarter. As Coalfield’s defense worked to eliminate 3-point opportunities for Sunbright, the Lady Tigers went inside, but scored only four baskets for 10 points in the third quarter.
The Lady Tigers built their lead over Coalfield to 29 points at 61-32 with 4:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. Coach Yaden cleared his bench with 3:04 remaining and a 61-36 lead. Sunbright then cruised to a 64-41 victory.
A major factor in the Lady Tigers’ victory was balanced scoring. Lindsey Brown led the way with 14 points, followed closely by Taylor Cox with 13 points. Jaclyn England scored 10 points, Lexi Griffith added nine points, Holly Nitzschke scored eight points, Alexis Northrup added seven points, and Casie Newport scored three points.
Gabbi Lowe led Coalfield with 10 points, Brooklyn Seiber added nine points, and Malachi Armes scored eight points. Leeah Henry scored five points, and Kadence Jackson scored three points. Isabella Armes, Jayleigh Bunch, and Alexis Morrison added two points each.
Sunbright advances to play number one seed Oneida on Friday at 6:30 PM in the District 3A semifinals at Roane State Community College in Harriman.
Click on the photo below to view 90 games photos on Flickr.
