Lady Dragons’ hot shooting leads to rout
It usually takes a team a little while to warm up when shooting in a neutral-site gym for a region tournament.
That was not the case for Pepperell on Wednesday afternoon. In the opening game of the Region 7-A Division I tournament, the Lady Dragons got off to a sizzling start, knocking down seven 3-pointers and outscoring Dalton Academy 31-2 to set the tone for a dominant 65-15 victory that advanced them to Friday’s quarterfinals.
Pepperell (16-7), the No. 5 seed for the tournament, will take on No. 4 Armuchee on Friday at 4 p.m., with the winner advancing to the region semifinals and clinching a Class A Division I state tournament berth.
After the Lady Dragons’ highoctane first quarter, they eventually pushed the advantage to 53-10 at the half as the scoring pace continued in the second quarter with a 22-8 margin in the period. Pepperell made 10 total 3s in the first half, including five from Morgan Willingham.
“It was a really good start for us to shoot it well like that,” Pepperell head coach Emily Claytor said. “I think we really set the tone for how we want to play this whole tournament. We want to build off this and come out and play this well from the start on Friday.”
Willingham scored her teamhigh 19 points all in the first half as she didn’t see action in the final two quarters, with the reserves taking over for the Lady Dragons to finish out the contest with the result no longer in doubt. Pepperell led 62-12 after a mercy rule-shortened 6-minute third quarter and both teams only scored three points apiece in the fourth.
Aysia Day was also in double figures for the Lady Dragons with 12 points, also all coming in the first half. Hannah Smith and Zoe Edge each added eight with a pair of 3s apiece, while Gabi Smith and Kaitlyn House each scored seven. Smith also knocked down two 3s.
“When we played Armuchee here a few weeks ago, it was probably the worst game we shot it all season,” Claytor said, “so to have success like we did today really makes us feel a lot more comfortable playing in this tournament here.”
Evelyn Medina and Bella Nava each had six points to lead Dalton Academy (0-25). Aileen Valdez added three.
The Lady Dragons will now turn their attention to Floyd County rival Armuchee, with a trip to the state tournament on the line. The teams split their two regular-season meetings.
“We’re excited,” Claytor said. “All season, our goal has been to make it to state, so now we are one game away from accomplishing that goal. Armuchee wants that just as much as we do, though. Both teams will be ready. It’s going to be exciting, and our girls are looking forward to the challenge.”