Lady Indians sweep home tourney
Jan 02,2007 00:00 by Scott Bennett
The Lady Indians enjoyed the confines of their home court, blasting three opponents on their way to their way to their third consecutive Lady Indian Invitational Crown. The Lady Indians (6-3 on the season) now own a perfect 9-0 record in the tournament’s three year history. Adair Co. 47 Bowling Green 30 The Lady Indians began tournament play with an outstanding defensive effort in holding the Purples scoreless the first nine minutes of the contest, and holding their opponents to only five first half points. Five early Carli Burton points led the charge out of the gate as the Lady Indians rushed out to a 14-0 first quarter advantage. The lead continued to swell as the Ladies topped out their lead at 26-5 on Sarah Ezell’s second half opening basket. Bowling Green was able to make the game respectable cutting the lead to 10 points midway through the fourth period, but hard nosed defense once again set the tone for the Lady Indians as they held the visitors to only two free throws in the final minutes of the contest to pull out the victory. Chene Smith enjoyed another fine game as she led the Lady Indians with 14 points. Joining her in double figures was Freshman Carli Burton with 11. Rounding out the scoring attack was Chelsea Luckey (6), Laura Walker (5), Jaclyn Taylor (5), and Sarah Ezell, Kristeena Breeding, and Danielle Vanarsdale with 2 points each. Adair Co. 77 Buckhorn 29 The Lady Indians trailed only 2-0 after the opening basket of the game by Buckhorn, but quickly recovered to build a double digit lead at the midpoint of the first quarter and never looked back. Chelsea Luckey led the opening period charge scoring six straight points to increase the Lady Tribe lead to 16-6. The second quarter saw the lead continue to mount as Coach James Turner used the opportunity to get some key minutes from his bench. The Lady Indians' pressure defense was too much to overcome for the Buckhorn squad as the home squad was able to rest its starters much of the second half in preparation for their third game in three days. Nearly all the Adair Co. squad reached the scorebook in the victory. Chelsea Luckey led the Lady Indians with 16 points. Danielle Vanarsdale enjoyed her best game of the season coming off a late start to her season adding 11 points in the win. Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Tribe was Kristeena Breeding (8), Carli Burton (8), Jaclyn Taylor (8), Laura Walker (7), Sarah Ezell (7), Katie Luckey (6), Chene Smith (4), Brooke Shelton (1), and Chelsea Beard (1). Adair Co. 52 Boyle Co. 40 In a battle of the tournament's two unbeaten teams, the Lady Indians used another stellar defensive quarter to open up a big lead in cruising to victory. After a tight first quarter which saw the Lady Tribe hang onto an 8-6 lead, the home squad limited the Boyle Co. team to only two baskets and a single free throw in the second frame to open up a 17-point halftime margin. The charge was led by Danielle Vanarsdale’s nine key points off the bench in the quarter. The lead ballooned to 18 points as the second half opened as Chene Smith followed a Boyle Co. basket with a free throw, steal and a basket to put the score at 31-13 in the opening minute of the third quarter. The visiting squad could only pull the deficit to 12 points down the stretch as the Lady Indians continued their stellar play in route to the victory. Laura Walker and Chene Smith led the Lady Indian scoring attack with 13 and 12 points each. Danielle Vanarsdale completed her second straight game with great play off the bench with nine points, all in a key second quarter run. Rounding out the stat column was Carli Burton (5), Kristeena Breeding (5), Brooke Shelton (5), Chelsea Beard (2), and Sarah Ezell (1). The Lady Indians travel to the prestigious Lady Invitational of the South beginning today at Scottsville. The sixteen team tournament including some of the best teams from Kentucky and Tennessee will see the Lady Indians open play at 12:45 against Louisville Butler, who is enjoying a fine season. The Lady Indians will continue play on Thursday- Saturday.