LADY BEARCATS GIVE HEAD COACH BIRTHDAY WIN IN HOME OPENER

The Booneville Lady Bearcats moved to 2-0 Thursday night with a 59-39 beatdown of Hector.

The home opener for the Lady Bearcats, on Head Coach’s Katelyn Holub’s birthday, was never in doubt after the Lady Bearcats scored the first 14 points of the game.

Hector took times outs down both 4-0 and 12-0, the later on a basket from Angie Brown on an assist from Linley Garrett.

That would be the first of Brown’s career high 11 points to go with five steals.

The first 12 points of the night were courtesy of five different players. Eventually eight players would contribute to the scoring.

Brown (shown) started the night in her customary number 12 jersey but finished in the number 4 due to having blood on the 12.

Brown’s second basket made it 14-0 before Hector finally scored, from the free throw line. It was no closer than 11 the rest of the night.

The lead was 16 after a pair of Tempi Terry baskets early in the second quarter and after Hector got within 21-10 then 23-12 before a JJ Keatts 3 and a basket by Brown made it 28-12.

A jump ball with 2.1 seconds to play in the half gave the Lady Bearcats the ball out of bounds and Anna Ferguson inbounded to Brown for a 3 and a 31-12 lead.

With just under two and a half minutes to go in the third quarter and the Lady Bearcats up 25, Hector made wholesale substitutions and Holub joined suit

The rest of the way the lead fluctuated between 18 and 24 as Ferguson started the final quarter with a basket and scored her team’s final point at the free throw line to finish with eight points.

Combining for the 11 points between the two Ferguson tallies, Keatts finished with a career best nine points and Ciara Smith would have six.

Garrett scored seven points and had nine rebounds and Lexi Franklin managed six points and five assists before cheering on teammates from the bench.

The Lady Bearcats and Bearcats, who were idle tonight due to the football playoffs, will be next play Tuesday against Mansfield at Bearcat Gym. The first tip is at 6 p.m.