The Sulphur basketball girls rolled past Comanche and Kingston last week for two more W's to add to the win column. The 15-1 team is playing great and it seems that on any given night one of seven can go out and have a career night. Against Comanche they rolled to a 76-31 win over the Lady Indians. Last Friday night, they headed to Kingston and cruised to a 68-17 win over the home team. The girls seem to be hitting on all cylinders and the timing for that couldn't be better for head coach Toby Todd with the playoffs just around the corner.
In the first quarter against Comanche Ashley Hughes hit a jumper and a three to get on the board. The Lady Bulldogs went to the paint for points early on. Salina Johnson, who has made a name for herself as a top notch defender, got offensive in the first. Johnson muscled in 8 points in the quarter. Darsha Reagle got a lay-up and hit a trey to extend the early Sulphur lead.
Hughes and Bailee Eldred hit buckets as well to end the first quarter with Sulphur leading Comanche, 17-5. In the second Comanche managed to score 7 points.
However, the explosive Sulphur offense did just that in the second, exploded. Johnson banged in a bucket while fellow post Ebony Harrison got the ball rolling and scored 9 points. With the post playing a huge role the guards saw more chances for scoring in the quarter. One player you don't need to give an inch to is Ashley Hughes. She proved why you can't let her get an open look. Hughes exploded for 13 points in the second. Reagle added 5 points as well to go into the locker room with Sulphur leading, 46-12.
In the second half, Hughes hit a jumper and a trey to extend the lead. Harrison muscled in two buckets while Tierani Richardson used her speed to score two buckets as well. Comanche had their highest scoring quarter dropping 11 points in the quarter, but it wasn't near enough as the Lady Bulldogs held on to a 59-23 advantage. In the final quarter of play, Katie Lancaster and Ashlee Walker hit jumpers while Ashley Welch banked in a bucket as well. Freshman Bailee Eldred showed everyone why coach Todd is so excited about her future as she hit two big three's and a jumper to seal a 76-31 win over the visiting Lady Indians of Comanche. Hughes led all scorers with 18 points while Harrison added 13 points. Johnson, Eldred, and Reagle chipped in 10 points a piece in the win as well.
Last Friday night, the girls headed to Kingston and the Lady Indians wanted nothing more than to knock the Lady Bulldogs off. In the first Kingston went inside and in the paint and at the free throw line they managed to score 8 points. Harrison was able to complete a three-point play while Walker and Johnson hit buckets in the paint as well. Hughes hit a jumper while Richardson drained a trey on her way to scoring 8 points in the first. At the end of one, the Lady Bulldogs led Kingston 17-8. In the second Richardson kept the hot hand scoring 5 more buckets including a long three. Hughes added 5 points while Walker and Eldred added 4 points a piece in the quarter. At the half Sulphur led 38-10.
In the second half, Harlee Griffis took advantage of the playing time by scoring 4 points in the third. Eldred drained a trey while Richardson chipped in 4 points as well. At the end of the third Sulphur was up 52-17. In the fourth, Hali Gilbert had the hot hand dropping two big three's and hitting two more buckets to extend the Sulphur lead even more. Lancaster added a three as well to make the final score 68-17. Richardson scored 17 while Gilbert scored 10, all in the fourth quarter. Eldred chipped in 8 while Harrison and Hughes scored 7 a piece. In all, 12 Lady Bulldogs got into the scoring column on the night.
Head coach Toby Todd had this to say about the two games this week. "Both games were big wins for us. We were able to get lots of girls playing time this week and a lot of those younger girls proved why our JV is undefeated this year. Hali Gilbert had a big game against Kingston and Harlee Griffis and Bailee Eldred also had big weeks. Comanche came in playing really well and they also have a really good record. I was proud of how the girls played. Ashley Hughes was her steady self and we finished the game with five girls scoring in double digits. Darsha Reagle played another great game for us as well.
"Against Kingston everyone got on the court. Tierani Richardson had a big game for us and got us rolling early. Our posts played great in both games on both ends of the court. Salina (Johnson) and Ebony (Harrison) both had two good games for us. Right now we have to stay healthy. We have to stay focused and continue to play as a team. We preach that a lot. We are playing good and are on a roll with the playoffs just around the corner."