West girls fight back in overtime to beat Kemper County

Published 4:07 am Wednesday, November 11, 2015

West Lauderdale High School's Heather Tolon goes for the steal against Kemper County High School's Kiandrea Cherry in Collinsville Tuesday night.

COLLINSVILLE — Mallory and Maggie Wooldridge combined to score the first 10 points in overtime en route to helping lift West Lauderdale High School past Kemper County High School 53-41 at the West Lauderdale Classic Tuesday night.

Mallory poured in a pair of 3s, while Maggie scored eight points in overtime. The Lady Knights (2-0) combined to outscore the Lady Wildcats 16-4 in the extra period.

“During overtime, I was just thinking, ‘Whoever is open needs to get the ball,'” Mallory said. “I was trying to get my sister (Maggie) the ball, because she was playing really well, and I was waiting for her to kick out to me. Our whole team played well (Tuesday), and I was really proud of them.”

Maggie led West Lauderdale with 20 points, while Mallory had 14 points.

“It’s really fun (playing with Maggie), because we kind of communicate without knowing it. We have a sister connection,” Mallory said.

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The Lady Knights led at the half 24-15 and held Kemper County to just two field goals in the first half.

“They only made two shots, but that’s because we fouled them on a lot of the other (shots),” West Lauderdale coach Matt Lum said. “But the defense saved us; offensively, we were not very good at all until overtime.”

The Lady Wildcats’ (0-2) key run came at the end of the third quarter. Kemper County outscored West Lauderdale 8-1 to end the period, cutting the deficit to 33-32.

“We couldn’t make free throws, and we didn’t play defense all game,” Kemper County coach Jennie Vance said. “And it became apparent in overtime; we didn’t play defense at all. We gave up two quick 3s, and it’s hard to come back when you get down by 10 in overtime.”

Kemper County was led offensively by Kiandrea Cherry, who poured in a team-high 16 points.

“(Cherry) loves this kind of atmosphere,” Vance said. “She loves to play when the game is on the line. She is a kid who likes to have people in the stand holler and scream at her, because she feeds off of it. She’s the kind of kid you want with the game on the line.”

The Lady Knights connected on five 3s, with four coming from Mallory.

“Mallory struggled at the beginning with her shot, which is unusual,” Lum said. “But we’ve talked over the years to continue to be confident and continue to play.

“You can’t say enough what Maggie Wooldridge does as a sophomore, running this team and the plays she makes down the stretch. She just has (great) ability to get it done.”

Tylethia Steele scored eight points for Kemper County, while Mercedez Jackson chipped in with six points.

“We have to have better post play, and our guards have to handle the ball better,” Vance said. “Their press wasn’t real strong; it wasn’t man to man press, and all we had to was throw to the middle and throw down the sidelines, and we didn’t do it.”

Meanwhile, Mallory Thompson and Jasmine Fortner each had seven points for West.

“Amber (Anderson) and Mallory Thompson did a good job of protecting the lane,” Lum said. “That allowed us to pressure their guards. Jasmine guarded their best player, and she was a force on the defensive end.”

WEST BOYS WIN

Michael Washington scored 16 points to help West Lauderdale High School beat Kemper County High School 57-43 at the West Lauderdale Classic Tuesday night.

The Knights (2-0) led 28-21 at halftime.

Stone Fielder and Landon Lewis each chipped in with nine points.