Lady Lions extend winning streak

Staff photo by Aaron Lynn Senath-Hornersville's Selena Neal shoots a jumper against Campbell in Wednesday night's game at Senath. [Click to enlarge]

Defense was a big reason for the Lions' dominance in the game. A few weeks ago the Lions made some modifications to their full-court press, and that is when their winning streak began. The changes were evident in Wednesday's game as SHHS got 11 points off of turnovers in the first quarter alone.

The Lions came out red hot in the game by causing Campbell to turn the ball over five times in the first two minutes of the game to go on a 9-0 run. Selena Neal of SHHS was responsible for getting three of those steals and five of the nine points by getting a basket off of a fast break and finding Hannah Kennedy for three points.

"Our defensive pressure was good," said Senath-Hornersville coach Jamie Johnson. "We came out and really got after the basket ball and got some early turnovers that led to easy buckets. We have to have defensive pressure, it's a big part of our game."

Taylor Thacker sunk Campbell's first basket of the game when she had a put back on an offensive rebound but, the Lions continued to roll.

SHHS kept attacking with a full-court press that led to more fast break points for the Lions. Neal built on her good start by getting open and knocking down shots from all over the court to give her 16-points in the first quarter.

Staff photo by Aaron Lynn Natalie Bibbs makes a pass through Campbell defenders to find Jami Jackson (15) open in the lane. [Click to enlarge]

"Selena is averaging about 26-points a night," said Senath-Hornersville coach Jamie Johnson. "She's a talent and she does a lot of things well. She's more than just a scorer, she's our best defender and probably our best passer. She brings a lot of things to the table, she's a great player.

The Lions outscored Campbell 30-11 in the first quarter to take a 19 point lead.

Campbell did a good job of keeping pace with the Lions during most of the second quarter and not letting the lead stretch any further. Whitney Whorton hit a 3-pointer and tacked on two more points while being a force in the rebounding game to allow SHHS to only add two-points to their lead with 1:51 left in the half. After a timeout taken, the Lions would add on 10 more points in the last 1:12 of the half when Neal and MacKynzie Harris both hit 3's, Natalie Bibbs found Neal in the paint for 2-points after a steal, and Harris knocked down a pair of free throws.

"Mackynzie has really started shooting the ball better," said Johnson. "When her, Kennedy, and Neal start hitting jump shots it gives us three good perimeter shooters."

Randa Jarred also made some big contributions on defense for the Lions. Jarred really got a lot of pressure on Campbell players on in-bound passes. Jarred didn't come up with the most turnovers for SHHS but, she wreaked havoc in the press getting tips and deflections and a number of times the player she was guarding would turn the ball over on the next pass.

"Randa is quick and has extremely fast hands," said coach Johnson. "She puts a lot of pressure up on the front of that press and she has a good nose for the ball. She's always around the basketball in some form or fashion.

SHHS went into the half owning a 29 point lead (52-23).

After the break the Lions picked up where they left off with Harris knocking down back-to-back 3's from the top of the key to push the lead even further and pretty much seal the game for the Lions.

SHHS had two players get into double digits in scoring. Neal finished with a total of 32-points and Harris put up 19-points.

Whorten was the only player to get into double digits for Campbell with 14-points.

The Lady Lions will look to extend their winning streak when they face the Hayti Lady Indians at Senath on Thursday. The win also improved SHHS record to (12-5) on the season. Two years ago, in coach Johnson's first season as head coach, the Lady Lions finished with a record of 4-17. Now, they are looking to make some noise in next week's Girls Bootheel Conference Tournament by riding their hot play as of late.