The Russell County Lady Laker basketball team improved their record to 3-1 on the season by defeating visiting McCreary Central, 64-46, on Monday night. It was Russell County's first home game of the season.

Head  coach Craig Pippen's squad shot 42 percent from the field and was led in scoring by sophomore LeeAnn Grider with 26 points on 8-19 shooting. She also dished out seven assists and tallied seven steals.

Pippen lauded Grider's play, saying her shots seemed to fall all night.

"I thought our kids came ready to play tonight," Pippen said. "LeeAnn Grider was in a zone shooting the ball. She had four 3's and multiple penetrating lay-ups in transition. Lee Ann didn't only play well offensively for us, but she also managed to have seven steals and played an outstanding defensive game."

Two other Lady Lakers scored in double figures as senior Lindsay Ramage scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds and senior Tyla Bailey came off the bench to score 13 points and lead Russell County with 11 rebounds.

"Tyla has gotten to the point where she realizes she has a major role on our team," he said. "This definitely can take the pressure off Lindsay Ramage and help us establish a dual threat inside the paint. Lindsay Ramage had another solid game for us tonight. She seemed much more comfortable running the floor and she had some great post moves that led to points. Her defense has and remains outstanding for the most part."

The Lady Laker defense was tough as well, forcing 23 Lady Raider turnovers and tallying 13 total steals on the evening.

"Our defensive intensity was good considering we took off Sunday from practice," Pippen said. "We will continue to work on our defense and over-all intensity. At this point, I am proud of the way our team has played in these early season games. "

Also scoring for Russell County was sophomore Regan Helm with six points, sophomore Julie Wethington with three points and senior Blair Hoover with two points.

"As long as our team continues to think 'team' first and 'self' second, the sky is the limit," Pippen said. "The ingredients are there for us to have a special season, however, in order for us to reach our goals, coaches and players must continue to work extremely hard in practice each and every day."