Fast start carries Lady Vikings past David Crockett

JONESBOROUGH — David Crockett's girls showed a lot of fight on Senior Night, but a fast start by Tennessee High proved to be too much to overcome. The Lady Vikings took control of the game with a 15-3 run that allowed them to build a 19-6 lead by the end of the first quarter, and they held on from there to claim a 63-49 Upper Lakes Conference victory on Tuesday night. Tennessee High moved to 19-8 overall and 4-2 in conference play while Crockett fell to 6-15 and 1-6. "I felt like they came out strong, really pushing the ball up and attacking the basket, especially in the first quarter," said Tennessee High coach Amanda Vance. "Then in the second quarter, I feel like we kind of went away from it." Crockett's effort certainly had a lot to do with that. The Lady Pioneers were able to inch back into the contest in the second quarter as Tennessee High struggled to get the ball into the basket. Maison Orr hit a foul shot with 2:02 remaining in the first half to close the deficit to 28-16 after the Lady Pioneers had trailed by as many as 18 points. Crockett's Kayleah Doner stole an inbound pass and converted a layup right before halftime to send her team to the locker room trailing 30-18 despite hitting just 5 of 38 field goal attempts in the first half. After shooting 41 percent from the floor in the first half, Tennessee High left the door open by managing to hit just 3 of 17 shot attempts in the second quarter. "Learning to keep that consistency is key, but I thought Crockett did a good job hustling and going after loose balls and playing aggressive," Vance said. Crockett opened the fourth quarter with another run thanks to six straight points by Doner, who led the Lady Pioneers with 22 points. A basket by Doner with 5:48 remaining in the contest pulled Crockett within 12 points and forced a Tennessee High timeout. A 3-pointer by Jaiden Howard moments later brought the Lady Pioneers within 11, but Addie Wilhoit and Katy Granger responded with back-to-back baskets provide some breathing room. Jenna Latham's 22 points led the way for Tennessee High. Wilhoit added 17 points for the Lady Vikings and Delaney Linkous chipped in nine. Senior Autumn Wynn wrapped up a strong performance for Crockett with eight points.