by Malcolm Butler
After more than a month of recording easy win after easy win in District 1-1A action, Cedar Creek received a rude awakening Tuesday night as the Lady Cougars fell 59-36 on the road to Arcadia in what amounted to the district title game.
The Lady Hornets (20-6, 5-0) came out strong, using a fullcourt defense that forced too many turnovers that resulted in double digit deficit that Cedar Creek (19-8, 5-1) was never able to recover from as the Lady Cougars fell for only the second time in two months.
“I felt like they came out and punched us in the nose, and we didn’t like it,” said Cedar Creek head coach Katie Hall. “I think it was a product of not seeing this level of competition in a while. I think it’s good for us to be exposed to this at this point of the season. We can make adjustments and prepare for the playoffs because this is the type of competition that we will be facing. We need to be able to handle it better.”
Arcadia junior guard DeAsia Alexander led the charge with seven early points as the Lady Hornets held a 23-7 lead after the first quarter. Creek committed eight turnovers in the opening eight minutes and totaled 17 (of their 30) in the first half.
Lady Hornets junior guard Ari Williams scored seven points in the second quarter — 13 in the first half — to help her team build a 38-12 halftime advantage.
“I told them at halftime that I didn’t think we were being tough enough,” said Hall. “Defensively, we weren’t playing our game. I told them we were going to go back to the basics. I told Avery to get in the paint and we were going to try to get it to her there instead of these mid-range jumpers. We were getting one shot and not rebounding. I told them not to quit.
“We got away from doing things we usually do. That was frustrating. We weren’t running in transition at all, but give them credit. Arcadia slowed us down with their press.”
The Lady Cougars responded with better effort and a tougher mentality in the third quarter, holding Arcadia scoreless during one four-minute stretch. After an Alexander bucket made the score 44-14 with 5:45 to play in the third, Cedar Creek used a 9-0 run led by six points from Avery Ryan to close to within 44-23.
However, it would be as close as the Lady Cougars could get.
“I want to give all the credit to Arcadia,” said Hall. “They came out and made the shots. They had their gameplan, and they executed it. Give them credit.”
Alexander led Arcadia with 17 points while Williams added 13 points.
“Avery is athletic enough to handle (Alexander), but she hit some shots and she hurt us in transition a couple of times,” said Hall. “We had a hard time keeping them out of the paint, so we had to go zone. I just felt like we were not very good defensively in the first half.”
Avery led Creek with 17 points while Alivia Lee added eight and Mary Grace Hawkins netted seven.
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Arcadia 66, Cougars 40
Cameron Temple led Cedar Creek with 10 points, but it wasn’t enough as Arcadia defeated the Cougars 66-40 Tuesday night.
The Cougars (9-17, 1-5) used a sagging zone defense to try to force the Hornets (11-10, 5-0) to beat them from outside. And although Arcadia struggled to shoot from the perimeter, the Hornets success on the offensive glass led by Kristopher Jackson was too much to overcome.
Jackson scored 11 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in limited action as Arcadia built a 40-16 lead and never looked back. Ryheem Abney added 12 points, while Dazly Allen netted 14 points.
Temple left the game late in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury but returned in the second half to score five of his team-high 10 points. George Pullin added nine points and Rhett Bridges added seven points.
Cedar Creek will travel to face Jonesboro-Hodge Friday.
