The Cumberland County Lady Jets hang their hat on tough, aggressive defense that forces turnovers and gets players out in transition. That play style was on display again Tuesday night as they dismantled the Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes, 55-36.
Clarkrange didn’t have much success offensively the entire night as they were constantly pressured, often scrambling to get into an offensive set.
“Most people know we create a lot of offense [and energy] out of our defense. I was very happy with our start and our level of intensity, our ability to wreak some havoc on the floor. I think [Clarkrange] was really surprised, and after the first quarter their guards didn’t want any part of what we were doing,” Lady Jets head coach Kim Cram-Torres said.
The Lady Jets forced nine turnovers in the first period and closed the quarter on a 15-0 run over the final six minutes. Clarkrange did get a few open looks but couldn’t take advantage, as the Cumberland County defense closed out quickly and didn’t allow second chance opportunities.
Clarkrange got its first points in the second period on an open three-pointer, but the Lady Jets’ lead increased to 27-3 as their run continued over a 10-minute span. A Lady Jet- made 3-pointer in the final seconds gave Cumberland County a 38-5 lead going into the break.
Cumberland County’s Sydney Wilhite had 18 points in the first half with two three-pointers. She was consistently getting past the defense after turnovers and rebounds to score easy transition baskets.
“When you think about scorers, she’s it. She can score around the basket, she can shoot the three. She [also] gets a lot of easy opportunities from our defense that gets created by Lauren [Clark] and Aliyah [Hawkins], and she’s able to get out and finish those,” said Cram-Torres. “Sometimes her job is super easy [because of] the job that everyone else is doing.”
Wilhite and the Lady Jets kept up the intensity to begin the second half. An 11-3 Cumberland County run increased the lead to 49-8.
The Lady Jets emptied the bench in the latter half of the third period with the game in control. Clarkrange was able to get some easy buckets as the starters sat, but still trailed 51-16 as the final period began.
A 12-1 Lady Buffaloes run over the first four minutes of the quarter narrowed the deficit, but ultimately it proved too large to overcome as Cumberland County came away with the 55-36 win. Wilhite led the way with 23 points, while Hawkins, Clark, and Jalynn Baldwin combined for 22 points.
A big win can give a team momentum in upcoming games, but it also provides a great opportunity to get younger players necessary experience as coach Cram-Torres noted.
“We’re really big believers in development. You can only develop a player so much in practice, and eventually they’re going to have to make it make sense in a game. Any time we have a chance to play our younger kids we do it.
“It’s not something we do because we’re blowing a team out, it’s because they earned it. They’ve earned that opportunity to go out and develop themselves. Once district [games] start, we’ve got to be able to play seven, eight or nine kids so the development over the course of the non-conference games is important.”
The Lady Jets (3-1) will look to build upon this win as they take on Pickett County (4-1) Dec. 1. This will be the second meeting between the two teams, with Cumberland County winning the first 65-31. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
“I think we caught them by surprise, so [Pickett County] isn’t going to walk in here and roll over. They have way too much pride and play way too hard,” Cram-Torres said. “We really have to be ready for that.”
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