Morgan Thompson (1) dribbles the ball up the court during Scotland’s first round victory over Lee County on Monday night at Scotland High School.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Alicia McClain (3) looks to pass the ball while being defended by Kaleah Cotton (10). McClain had 10 points in the victory.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Lanika Walters (0) and Dere’Yanna Vanderhall play defense against Yasmin Quick (5).
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Madison Dixon (23) attempts a free throw during the first half. Dixon had seven points, including two three-pointers.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG —The Lady Scots basketball team defeated the visiting Lee County Yellow Jackets by a score of 67-38 in their first round SAC tournament matchup on Monday night at Scotland High School. Scotland has won all three meetings with the Yellow Jackets this season (all since Jan. 14), having taken both regular season meetings in addition to Monday’s tournament contest.
Head Coach Roshien McClain liked the way his team established their presence early in Monday’s game and kept their foot on the gas throughout all four quarters. Even though the Scots have proven they could beat Lee County twice already, he is aware of how difficult it is to beat any team three times in one season.
“It’s a great way to start our postseason run, it’s hard beating a team three times,” McClain said. “We had a good pregame warmup and shot making was great tonight.”
The Scots controlled the contest from the start, with Alicia McClain getting the first points of the game and sparking a 6-0 Scotland run within the first 2:15 of the contest. Lanika Walters would score Scotland’s last seven points of the period, including a 4-0 run to end the quarter as the Scots led 13-5 after eight minutes of action.
After Yasmin Quick scored the first points of the second period with 50 seconds elapsed, Madison Dixon got Scotland four straight points on a free throw and three-pointer to bring the Scots’ lead up to 10 (17-7). Scotland would always keep the Yellow Jackets at an arms reach with the closest they got to even before halftime being a seven-point deficit (17-10, 19-12, 22-15). The Scots would be up by as much as 11 (26-15) during the quarter and enter the locker room up 26-18.
The third period is where the Scots would start to pull away with Kayla Simmons and Walters getting the Scots four unanswered to start the half within 1:11 before Kaleah Cotton knocked down a three-pointer after two minutes passed. Scotland then went on a 14-0 surge to put some distance between the teams as they now led 44-21. The Scots would be up 50-25 after 24 minutes.
The game was all but over entering the fourth quarter. The contest was never any closer than 21 points during the final eight minutes with Scotland comfortably coasting to the finish line, leading by as many as 31 points (67-36) in the process.
Simmons led the Scots in scoring with 12 points. Scotland got their scoring from everywhere with nine different players getting on the score sheet.
Scotland will have a quick turnaround with a trip to face Richmond in the second round of the tournament on tap for Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The Scots lost both regular season meeting to the Raiders, most recently dropping a 60-38 decision at home on Friday night.
McClain was pleased with the way Scotland put their foot down in the second half on Monday but has no time to celebrate and knows the work cut out for his team in Rockingham. Coming off of a loss to the Raiders just a few days ago, McClain doesn’t want any thought to be on what happened last week but rather focus on the opportunity that is in front of the Scots.
“I liked the way we played in the second half,” McClain said. “We can’t have bad quarters tomorrow, they’re very disciplined and well coached. Take every game differently, it’s a new game and new score.”