Lady Devils Down Lee Behind Freshman Thompson’s 21 Points
by ZEKE NEWTON
TriCitiesSports.com
December 12, 2017
GATE CITY, Va. -- The Gate City Lady Devils opened up district play with a sharp performance, resulting in a 64-37 victory over the Lady Generals of Lee High.
The Generals took an early 4-0 lead, but intense pressure from the Lady Devils defense took over the game.
Gate City forced seven first quarter turnovers, leading to an 18-0 run over the final 6:30 of the stanza.
“We talked about getting out to a quick start and setting the tone,” remarked Gate City coach Kelly Houseright. “I felt that we had a lot of energy tonight, forced some turnovers and was able to convert some easy buckets.”
Lee cut the deficit down to just nine midway through the second quarter, but a 10-0 Lady Devil run from there put the game on the proverbial ice for Gate City.
Freshman Sarah Thompson led all scorers with 21 points.
"We played a lot together this summer,” said Thompson. “We've really started to know each other and mesh. We're getting better, and it was a total team effort tonight."
"She's (Thompson’s) due that,” remarked Houseright. “She works hard and plays a lot of basketball year round. She sets the tone for the type of things were want to do here."
Lee was hampered by the loss of starting point guard Alexis Tabor (illness), who not only is crucial to the Generals’ offensive totals, but it the main ball handler for Coach Angela Thomas.
“She is my ball handler,” said Thomas. “We didn’t have a backup ready to go that could withstand the pressure tonight. That led to a lot of turnovers, and the inability to penetrate the Gate City defense.”
However, Thomas knows that this experience will be good for her team moving forward.
“It’s hard when you have to change up the game plan, but that’s a learning experience. You have to adapt. I’m proud of the girls for not giving up. They didn’t get down on their selves and kept fighting.”
The Lady Devils improve to 2-1 after coming off of a split in home contests against Tennessee foes in Sullivan East and Tennessee High.
In addition to Thompson’s 21 points, senior forward Tori Powers fired in 12, while Kate Pendleton added 8 points.
Lee high falls to 0-2, with their other contest being a 73-51 loss to Pineville, KY.
The Lady Generals were paced by Arielle Tritt’s 13, and Whitney Ely’s 10 points.
LEE (0-2, 0-1) -- Fannon 0 0-0 0, K. Cox 1 0-0 2, B. Cox 0 0-0 0, Medley 0 0-0 0, Robinette 0 0-0 0, Arielle Tritt 5 2-4 13, Herron 3 2-4 8, Quillen 2 0-0 4, Whitney Ely 5 0-0 10, Brown 0 0-0 0, Totals 16 4-8 37.
GATE CITY (2-1, 1-0) -- Watts 0 2-2 2, Gibson 2 0-0 4, Quillen 0 0-0 0, Howell 0 2-2 2, Pendleton 3 1-2 8, Stapleton 1 1-2 4, Jerrell 1 0-0 2, Musick 0 0-0 0, Sarah Thompson 8 4-6 21, Mullins 3 0-0 7, Howington 0 0-2 0, Tori Powers 5 2-6 12, Light 1 0-0 2, Total 0 0-0 0.
Lee High | 4 | 12 | 8 | 13 | -- 37 |
Gate City | 18 | 18 | 15 | 13 | -- 64 |
3-point goals — Lee 1 (Tritt). Gate City 4 (Pendleton, Stapleton, Thompson, Mullins).