Lady Indians Hustle Past Hampton in Triten Thanksgiving Classic
by STEVE WILMOTH
TriCitiesSports.com
November 20, 2018
BLUFF CITY, Tenn. -- Dobyns-Bennett scored the first nine points of the second half, expanding a seven-point margin to a 35-19 cushion on its way to a 54-31 victory over Hampton in the Triten Insurance Thanksgiving Classic at The Dyer Dome.
Following a lackluster first half, all nine of the points in the spurt came via effort and hustle.
“I was really disappointed with Monday’s effort in practice and that’s the way we came out today,” said Lady Indian coach Bill Francis. “I didn’t feel like we were mentally engaged in that first half. But our second half start was good and we took control.”
A putback by Caitlyn Wallace made it 28-19. Jaden Potts followed her own missed three by outworking a pair of Bulldogs for the offensive rebound and falling to the floor found Bethany Welty who converted a conventional three-point play to push the lead to 31-19.
When Courtney Whitson grabbed a defensive rebound, spied a sprinting Wallace downfloor, and delivered a perfect lead pass that Wallace finished with the left-hand, Dobyns-Bennett moved ahead 33-19.
Wallace scored just four points in the contest, but pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists.
“Caitlyn has been the one lost in the shuffle through our first four games as far as recognition because she rebounds, she’s solid defensively, she provides a lot of energy and does a lot of blue collar stuff,” noted Francis. “And she can score and we want her to score.”
A Whitson steal and assist to Elle Francis expanded the Lady Indian lead to 35-19. Working the wing and the post, Whitson scored a game-high 24 points, grabbed ten rebounds, had five assists, two steals and two blocks.
Whitson knocked down a pair of three’s, drove to the basket with relative ease from the perimeter and scored her final six points with ease in the paint.
“We got her (Whitson) in the post a little bit late, we thought she could score in there,” explained Francis. “We still like her on the wing because we can get her the ball in space. And that’s our whole goal this year is to get her the ball in space where she can go to work.
She’s also a great passer and she’s a great shooter and she can drive the ball. I’m excited about what I’m seeing there.”
Jabrea Johnson added 11 points for the Lady Indians. Peyton Domby finished with five rebounds and Emilee Lane came away with four steals and two assists.
“All our kids can all play,” noted Francis. “Our chemistry in not quite there yet and we’re trying to put Courtney in some different places. We’ll go through some growing pains and I know that.”
Only three different Hampton players made field goals and only four dotted the scoring column. Leann Guinn and Stephanie Campbell made 10 of the Bulldogs’ 11 field goals and finished with 13 and 11 points respectively.
Dobyns-Bennett (3-1) plays again in the Triten Thanksgiving Classic Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Unicoi County. The Lady Indians will also play Unaka Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Sullivan East Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
HAMPTON (31) -- Stephanie Campbell 4 3-4 11, Haley Caren 0 0-2 0, Brook Hughes 0 0-0 0, Leanne Guinn 6 1-1 13, Trinity Camillo 1 0-0 3, Hannah Collins 0 4-6 4, Ashton Townson 0 0-0 0, Skylar Hicks 0 0-0 0, Destini Milhorn 0 0-0 0, Nicole Gay 0 0-0 0, Hazen Brumitt 0 0-0 0, Totals 11 8-13 31.
DOBYNS-BENNETT (54) -- Jaden Potts 1 0-0 3, Bethany Welty 1 1-1 3, Courtney Whitson 10 2-3 24, Peyton Domby 0 2-2 2, Jabrea Johnson 4 2-4 11, Blaire Barrett 0 0-0 0, Megan Ayers 1 0-0 2, Kinzee Mounger 0 0-0 0, Elle Francis 2 0-2 5, Caitlyn Wallace 2 0-0 4, Emilee Lane 0 0-0 0, Totals 21 7-12 54.
Hampton | 9 | 10 | 5 | 7 | -- 31 |
Dobyns-Bennett | 16 | 10 | 11 | 17 | -- 54 |
Three-Pointers - Hampton 1 (Camillo), Dobyns-Bennett 5 (Whitson 2, Francis, Potts, Johnson).