Lady Vols easily defeat Lady Eagles

By DANNY P. SMITH
sdnsports@bellsouth.net [2]

COLUMBUS – Whether it was Sallie Kate Richardson scoring inside or Nora Kathryn Carroll hitting from outside, the Starkville Academy Lady Volunteers were clicking on Thursday afternoon.
In the final game of the three-day Heritage Tournament, Richardson and Carroll combined for 32 points and the Lady Vols dominated the Hebron Christian Lady Eagles 61-25.
Starkville Academy girls coach Glenn Schmidt said her team has the ability to play well inside and out so it just has to be smart enough to know when to take advantage of a situation.
"What we've got to focus on is take what the defense gives us," Schmidt said. "One night it might be guard play and one night it might be forward-post play. We did a great job this week of breaking down what was happening to us. We got the ball out in transition a lot. That was a good thing."
The Lady Vols (3-0) jumped out to a 25-0 lead after the first quarter mainly due to Carroll's long-range shooting. She hit three 3-point field goals and scored 11 points in the opening quarter.
The SA advantage grew to 41-11 at halftime.
Richardson led the Lady Vols with 19 points, while Carroll added 13 points. Maridee Higginbotham was next in the scoring column with eight points.
The victory capped a successful opening week of play for SA as it also defeated Marshall 62-35 and Immanuel 61-28.
"It was good to get three wins and good to get a look at a lot of kids that have been practicing hard," Schmidt said. "We appreciate the opportunity and saw some good things.
"From here on out, the challenge gets greater. We play Aberdeen on Saturday, then we'll have our home opener against a pretty stout bunch in MRA Tuesday, who I think is the team to beat in the whole MAIS."