BLYTHEWOOD – Following Friday’s come-from-behind victory at Richland Northeast, the Westwood Girls treaded lightly against York Tuesday night.
The Cougars gave little opposition as the Redhawks cruised to a 63-28 victory over their Region 5-4A rivals at the Westwood gym.
“With the kids, you try to keep them focused,” Westwood head coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “They knew this was a different kind of game (than at RNE). We just wanted to keep them playing at the level that we need to play at.”
Mya Belton (23) attempts a one handed floater. | Leroy Howard
Mya Belton scored 17 points, Unique Drake added 16, and Maliyah Lockett had 10 to lead the Redhawks (13-1, 2-0).
After a slow start in the first quarter, the Redhawks picked up their stride in the second quarter, outscoring the Cougars 24-4 to take a 40-15 lead at the half.
“They stayed with it, and we got some good defensive stops, being very aggressive offensively, attacking the rim,” Bauldrick said. “Once we got going, we made it very difficult for them.”
Westwood had to work harder at RNE last week. Drake scored 20 and Belton 16 in Westwood’s 51-47 gut check against the Cavaliers.
“We really got off to a slow start. It was what I called a chin-check,” Bauldrick said. “Two minutes into the game, we were down by 10. By the time the quarter ended, we were up 17-12.”
That slow start, and the Redhawks’ awakening from it, pleased Bauldrick.
“I thought that chin-check was good. ‘Hey, you know, we can take a punch,’” he added. “We didn’t lose our composure, we came together and did what we had to do.”
Drake was recognized for her scoring milestone at halftime Tuesday. The junior scored the 1,000th point in her career as a Redhawk during a game against Wyoming East (W.Va.) at the Carolina Invitational Tournament over the Christmas break. She is the first athlete to reach 1,000 points in Westwood basketball history.
The Redhawks travel to Lancaster Friday, then play Lower Richland in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bash at Eau Claire High School Saturday at 3 p.m.
York – 11 – 4 – 10 – 3 – 28
Westwood – 16 – 24 – 12 – 11 – 63
York: Natalee Graham 14, Starnes 4, Baker 2, Long 2, Pendergrass 2, Green 2, Worthy 2
Westwood: Mya Belton 17, Unique Drake 16, Maliyah Lockett 10, Etheredge 9, Leveretter 9, Simon 2
