In Dec. 11 Issue
By Derek Aaron
Times Journal Sports Editor

The Russell County Lady Lakers won their opening game last Friday night at Glasgow 56-49.

Kim Pierce scored 16 points to lead Russell County while LeeAnn Grider had 15 points and four 3-pointers.

“The win against Glasgow wasn’t pretty,” said Coach Craig Pippen. “But like they say, a win is a win.”

“It was a very typical performance for a first game,” he said.

“We looked like we were in slow motion on the defensive side of the ball.”

Pippen said his team needs to do a better job blocking out and increasing their energy level.

“We turned the ball over too many times, bit that is not a major concern this early in the year,” Pippen said.

“Our guards have improved and I know we will limit our unforced turnovers as the season continues.”

“On the bright side, we moved the ball well, shot the ball well from the perimeter, 50 percent from 3-point range, and we executed our offensive sets for the most part,” he said.

He said the biggest thing his team needs to improve is their defensive energy and intensity, blocking out and sprinting the floor.

“After watching this game on film, our girls understand just how slow we were moving,” he said.

“On some of that, we will tip our hats to Glasgow. They did a nice job slowing us down.”

“Hopefully we learned a lot from film session and will improve our play Tuesday evening against McCreary Central,” Pippen said.

Others scoring for the Lady Lakers included junior Kyla Thomas with eight points, Lindsay Ramage and Blair Hoover with six points apiece and five points for junior Rachael Miller.

Hoover led the Lady Lakers in rebounds with seven in the game.

Russell County had more points in the paint and second-chance points than the Lady Scotties, one of the keys to the ladies’ first victory.