Friday night’s matchup between the Lady Redhawks of Westwood and the Dreher Lady Blue Devils was a one-sided contest, dominated by the aggressive play and scoring of Dreher. Dreher dominated, 51-24, although the Redhawks did show some improvement over the 44-11 drubbing by Dreher a few weeks ago.
Before the game, Westwood head coach Christine Hagood said the key to winning the game was scoring and teamwork.
“Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!” Hagood said. “We need to control the basketball. Last game we had 50 turnovers, and we can’t have that. We need to control the basketball. Everyone needs to score and play an overall good game. I hope we get some scoring, period!”
When asked how to contain some of the Dreher high-scoring players, she added, “We will play zone and control it. They are going to score no matter. They can go inside on zone, they can go one-on-one against a man to man defense.”
Teresa Jones, the Lady Blue Devil’s head coach, had high hopes her team would play better than Tuesday’s loss against Lower Richland High School.
“We are hoping we will play better than we have played,” Jones said. “We are coming off a tough loss to L.R. I hope the girls are re-focused and ready to go tonight to play hard and aggressively, and that they can capitalize on their offensive opportunities.”
Hagood’s emphasis on scoring was dead on. Much like the last meeting of these two teams, the game was dominated by Dreher’s Kaydra Duckett and Jhileiya Dunlap. Duckett was the game’s high scorer with 17 points with Dunlap just behind with 15 points.
Conversely, Most of Westwood’s scoring from the field would be in the first period, where they scored eight points, all from the field. Taylor Toney, Westwood’s high scorer, hit the basket for two 3-pointers, and Kayla Atkins sunk a 2-point bucket. Westwood would score only once more from the hardwood, and that was a 2-pointer by Kaylah Cohen. All of the rest of Westwood’s points would come from free throws.
The game began with Westwood playing tough against the opponent who beat them so convincingly before. The two 3-pointers and Atkins’ basket would keep them within four points as the first period ended. In the second period the faster and more aggressive Lady Blue Devils would possess the ball more often and make better use of their scoring opportunities. As a result, five Dreher players would score, while the Lady Redhawks would be held to three points, all from free throws. Despite the 24-11 lead by Dreher at the half, Westwood had scored as many points as they did in the whole game the last time the teams met.
The third period would be a disaster for Westwood. They accumulated only two points, each from a free throw, while the Lady Blue Devils kept piling on the points.
The final period was owned by the Dreher scoring machines, Duckett and Dunlap. They hit Westwood for a combined 15 points during the period, with five buckets and hitting five out of six from the free throw line. The fourth period was also Westwood’s best period, as the team was good from the foul line. Redhawk players would advance to the line six times and would put 11 points on the board.
Tuesday night, the Lady ‘Hawks fell to A.C. Flora, 41-29. Atkins led Westwood with 11 points in the effort, followed by Samantha Pulley with 9. Tonight (Feb. 1), Westwood travels to Camden for a 6 p.m. tipoff.