By: Nick Hall
The Plainview Lady Bears took the opposite path to their male counterparts last week as they began their grueling road grind with a big wins at Oxford on Tuesday and Etowah on Thursday, before falling on the backend of the three-game stretch to Sacred Heart on Friday. Below are breakdowns of the games.
Plainview 53 – Oxford 42
It was a hard fought first period of play that ended with the Lady Yellow Jackets of Oxford leading 12-10. The second period was much the same as the Lady Bears fought to an 18-18 draw going into the half. However, the third period saw Plainview separate and the fourth period saw them dominate. Tobi Trotter led Plainview with 15 points. Avery Price and Kenzi Traylor added eight points each while Peyton Blevins had seven. Elaine Puckett led rebounding with five grabs. Trotter had four, followed by Price with three. “We got off to a slow start scoring,” said Lady Bears’ coach Luke Griggs. “I called the girls out at halftime and they responded with 35-point second half. I was particularly proud of our post defenders. Oxford has a really good big and we held her to seven points.”
Plainview 51 – Etowah 24
The Etowah Lady Blue Devils put up a fight early but after the first period it was all Plainview, all the time. The Lady Bears led 22-10 and halftime and it only got worse for the Lady Blue Devils from there. Plainview had two players in double digits as Tobi Trotter put up 13 points to Ava Smith’s 10. Payton Blevins and Jenna Mayes added eight and six respectively. Trotter led off the boards with seven rebounds, followed by Price with six and Morgan Richey with five. Blevins and Traylor had four grabs each. “I was really proud of our girls,” said Griggs. “We knew going in that it would be a very physical game. I challenged our girls to be more physical, especially off the boards and they responded. We outrebounded them 37-19 and only gave up two offensive boards.”
Sacred Heart 59 – Plainview 37
Things went south in hurry for the Lady Bears at Sacred Heart. The Cardinals jumped out to a 15-7 lead at the end of the first period and stretched it to 27-11 by halftime. The Lady Bears found more offense in the second half but not enough to dig themselves out of the first half hole. Once again, Trotter led the way on offense with 16 points, followed by Blevins with 10. Jesi Farris led Plainview off the glass with eight rebounds, followed by Ava Smith and Trotter with six each. “After getting whipped in the first half, I thought our girls really held their own in the second,’ said Griggs. “The atmosphere was great even though we lost. Sacred Heart is a very good team and I’m looking forward to playing them at home for our last regular season game.”