EDITOR'S NOTE: In Wednesday's print edition, it was reported Science Hill boys would play at Volunteer on Thursday. However, Volunteer is hosting Sullivan Central Thursday and will reschedule its matchup with the Toppers. The web edition has been adjusted to reflect the change.
CHURCH HILL — Science Hill left no suspense in rolling to a Big 7 Conference girls basketball win Tuesday night at Volunteer.
The Lady Hilltoppers raced to a 28-point halftime lead in a 66-22 win over the Lady Falcons.
Using a 2-2-1 full-court zone trap and then quickly transitioning to a halfcourt 2-3 zone defense, the athletic Lady ’Toppers (10-9, 5-0) simply overwhelmed the Lady Falcons (9-7, 2-3).
Post players Kathryn Patton and Nae Marion dominated on the inside with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
“This is a bigger team than we’ve had in the past,” Science Hill coach Scottie Whaley said. “We did a really great job with the defense. We have a lot of length, which is an advantage for us, so we try to make people shoot over us. We’ve picked up the intensity the last couple of weeks and we’ve done a really good job of rebounding, getting on the boards.”
Science Hill led 14-3 after one quarter and 39-11 at halftime.
“Science Hill is by far one of the best teams in the conference,” Lady Falcons coach Tyrone Smith said. “They’ve got a lot of size, so long and lanky.”
Colleen Coughlin hit four 3-pointers in a 12-point performance for Science Hill.
“Our team is really good. We’ve been shooting well, which that’s good for our 3-point shooters,” said Patton, who was a force not only with her scoring but in rebounding over the smaller Volunteer defenders. “It was fun tonight. We were able to get up on them early and just play.”
Kenady Knittel paced Volunteer with eight points and Raenah Barton added six.
Smith said the Lady Falcons have struggled to score recently, having topped 50 points only once in their last seven games.
“We’re going through a drought right now. We started off hot, but it seems we go through this every season,” Smith said. “We lost to Tennessee High yesterday and Science Hill today. We need to have a game to pick our confidence back up.
“I told them in the locker room to shake it off and get ready to play Sullivan Central on Thursday.”
BIG GAME COMING UP
The Lady Hilltoppers, who have won four straight and are the only Big 7 team undefeated in conference play, are slated to play at one-loss Dobyns-Bennett on Friday night.
“I couldn’t be happier for a group of girls,” Whaley said. “I don’t think a lot of people thought we could be in this position. We have seven more games to go, a big one Friday night at the Dome. It will be a lot of fun. We will be ready for a great game.”
BOYS POSTPONED
Science Hill and Volunteer didn’t play a boys game because the Hilltoppers are quarantining because of the coronavirus. The game will be rescheduled.
Also, Science Hill’s showdown with Dobyns-Bennett has also been rescheduled.
