In Feb. 12 Issue
By Derek Aaron
Times Journal Sports Editor

Coach Craig Pippen’s Lady Lakers ended a five-game losing streak last Thursday night in Laker Gym, defeating district rival Clinton County 49-41 in nearly a must-win game for the ladies. The ladies’ season record now stands at 12-7.

“The win was a big win for our team,” Pippen said. “Our players came out and executed our game plan.”

The Lady Lakers used a 16-8 run in the fourth quarter to put away the district rival Lady Bulldogs.

Russell County had three players score double figures in the game, led by Lindsay Ramage’s 15 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds. LeeAnn Grider scored 13 points and tallied six rebounds while Blair Hoover added a dozen points.

Heather Burton scored six points for the Lady Lakers while Rachael Miller scored two points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists.

Kyla Thomas also scored one point for Russell County.

The Lady Laker coach said he was starting to see some growth among players that he’d expected come become big contributors as the season progresses.

Russell County shot a blistering 59 percent from the field for the game while limiting Clinton County to just 32 percent shooting. The ladies also shot an outstanding 64 percent from the three-point arc for the game.

Clinton County was led in scoring by Brittany Flowers with 13 points.

“The win solidified a 2 or 3 seed in the district tournament,” he said.

“However, with the parity in our district, it really doesn’t matter who we play. We need to just focus on what we do and what we need to do to get better.”

Pippen said he was proud of how his team has handled the recent adversity of losing junior Kim Pierce for the season and the losing streak.

“They have stayed the course and haven’t listened to any negativity,” he said. “That is a true sign of maturity.”

The Russell County coach said his team will continue to work on the defensive side of the ball in practice and will work on improving the team’s free throw shooting percentage.

“I am excited about our team’s progress,” he said.