Mya Belton (23) puts one up in the lane. (Photo/Ross Burton)
COLUMBIA (Dec. 13, 2016) – The Lady Redhawks (6-0) traveled to The Nest at A.C. Flora High School Tuesday hoping to continue their hot start. Westwood used their speed on both ends of the court to run away from the Lady Falcons (7-4), 66-41.
Westwood used a strong first quarter to begin their onslaught against the Lady Falcons, jumping out on a 16-2 run to start the game.
“We got off to a fast start with our full-court pressure, giving us a chance to score easy baskets,” Westwood head coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “We live on our defense to give us an opportunity to run in the open court.”
Running is what the Lady Redhawks did and used every opportunity to outscore the Lady Falcons. Sophomore guard Unique Drake dumped in 16 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, helping the Lady Redhawks open up the floodgates by halftime.
“Unique was good for us tonight, driving the basketball in the paint and looking to give her teammates open opportunities,” Bauldrick said.
By halftime Westwood led Flora 35-13.
The third quarter consisted of lots of turnovers and fouls as both the Lady Redhawks and the Lady Falcons struggled to get a good start on the second half. Flora used the opportunity to a degree by outscoring Westwood 17-13 in the quarter.
“I felt that was probably one of our worst third quarters of the season, but we continued to keep them off their game plan with our pressure,” Bauldrick said.
Despite outscoring Westwood, the deficit was still double digits as Westwood led at the end of the third 48-30.
Westwood junior forward Mya Belton led the fourth quarter with 6 points, helping the Lady Redhawks continue their dominance as Flora never cut back into the lead. Westwood ended the game on an 8-0 run closing out the Lady Falcons 66-41.
Drake led all scorers with 22 points and Belton added 16 points. J. Strange led A.C. Flora with 16 points.
W: 16-19-13-18 – 66
ACF: 4-9-17-11 – 41
Westwood: Essense Marshall-11, Unique Drake-22, Diamond Harling-1, Maliyah Lockett-6, Nyah Leveretter-4, Ja’Mari Fredrick-3, Mya Belton-16, Perriyona Smith-2, Taeyana Cutner-2.
AC Flora: D. Williams-10, M.B. Sumpter-8, A. Fleming-1, A. Wong Won-3, J. Strange-16, T. Little-2.
RECORDS: Westwood 6-0; AC Flora 7-4
