Dreher’s Jhileiya Dunlap (34) goes over the back of Aubria Greene in pursuit of the loose rebound. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)
BLYTHEWOOD – The Lady Bengals’ (3-5) basketball squad dropped its fourth straight Tuesday night by a score of 61-38 to the Lady Blue Devils of Dreher. With four of their five starters standing taller than 5 feet 9 inches, the Lady Blue Devils were able to physically control the smaller Lady Bengals.
“There is no equalizer for size,” Blythewood head coach Steve Inabinet said after the game. “They (Dreher) were just so long, big and fast.”
Both of Dreher’s post players, Jaelynn Murray and Jhileiya Dunlap, stand over 6-feet tall and together they combined for 34 points.
Dreher jumped out to an 11-0 lead before Blythewood countered with a 6-0 run, but the Lady Bengals still trailed 15-6 at the end of the first quarter. Blythewood never held a lead in the contest and allowed nearly six minutes to go by in the second quarter before netting a point. At halftime, the Lady Bengals trailed 26-13.
Jasrial Thompson converted two free throws to begin the third quarter and cut the deficit to 11 points, but that would be as close as the Lady Bengals would get as Dreher outscored Blythewood 23-12 in the third quarter.
Inabinet said after the game that Tuesday night’s loss gave his coaching staff a good gauge of where they are right now and what they have to do in the future to improve. He emphasized shot selection.
“It’s (shot selection) bad right now and we have to do a better job,” he said. “Our best shooters have to shoot better and we talk about that every day in practice, but once the game starts we lose focus.”
Aubria Greene and Thompson led the Lady Bengals in scoring with 15 and 14 respectively.
Blythewood will be on the road Friday at Chester. The Lady Bengals will stay fresh over the Christmas break by playing in the 18th annual District 9 Officials Christmas Basketball Tournament at Crestwood High School in Sumter. Action starts against Manning at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 26.
Inabinet said his team will stay focused and continue to stress the positives.
“We know what we need to keep improving on,” he said.
Dreher 61, Blythewood 38
DH: 15-11-23-12 – 61
BW: 6-7-12-13 – 38
Individual scoring – Blythewood: Aubria Greene 15, Jasrial Thompson 14, Lauren Harley 5, Alyna Kelly 3, Keayra Jackson 1. Dreher: Daija Parks 6, Ebony Jones 6, Carla Brown 4, Jessica Auld 4, Chelsea Wilson 7, Jaelynn Murray 18, Jhileiya Dunlap 18.