AUBURN – The one thing Tammy Anderson tried to make clear to her basketball team was to not let the Edward Little girls’ get the outside shot going Tuesday night.
The fact that the Red Eddies got seven 3-pointers from three different players might indicate just how that worked out. EL broke open a slim halftime lead with a strong third quarter and earned its first victory of the season, 55-38, over Leavitt.
“We’ve been working on that,” said EL guard Allie Forgues. “It sets up the momentum if we start hitting 3’s. Everyone else gets their energy up. It’s a confidence boost for everyone.”
Kate Dargie led EL with 17 points, including four 3’s. Forgues added 13 points and two treys. Brittney French also scored 13 points. Ashley Gaylord also hit a 3 for EL (1-4).
“I thought we had a great first quarter, which he have consistently,” said Anderson. ” I told them that I was scared to death of French and Dargie because I respect them as players. Dargie lit it up from the outside. You can not let them shoot without a hand in their face. They did what they needed to do, and I could see our guys and their body language, and I knew we were in trouble.”
Leavitt (0-5) got 10 points from Steph Healy and nine from Brittany Duncan.
“What we’re more caught up with than just the winning part is that we played well,” said Craig Jipson about his first victory at EL. “We played exceptional defense. Our shot selection was pretty good. I was just real happy with the way we ran the floor.”
A Dargie rebound in the closing seconds of the first half gave EL a 21-19 lead. EL followed with a strong third quarter to open up a 34-24 lead.
“Usually we have a third-quarter slump, but we really wanted it.” said Forgues. “We knew we had it this game. We weren’t down. Our confidence was up. So we just put it together and got things done.”
Gaylord opened the half with a 3. After an Alex Naylor basket, Dargie hit another 3. Leavitt got within 27-24 on a basket by Duncan and a free throw by Healy, but Forgues hit a 3 and then scored off a steal. French hit a jumper for a 7-0 that built a 10-point lead.
Though Leavitt shot 6-for-13 in the first quarter, the Hornets went 8-for-57 the rest of the way, including 1-for-18 to start the final quarter.
“Offensively, we’ve been struggling all year long,” said Anderson. “We’ve got Steph Healy, who is scoring quite consistently, but we’re having trouble shooting the ball right now. A couple players that are decent shooters are struggling, and their confidence is down.”Leavitt got within 34-29 with a Amie Chiasson rebound late in the third, but a French basket made it 36-29 after three quarters. EL then scored six straight points to spark a 14-2 spurt to start the fourth.
“It’s a big confidence boost,” said Forgues. “I think we played really hard. Everything just came together. I think it’s going to set up the rest of the season for us. We just needed our first win to get us going.”
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