Jan. 2, 2013 — After giving some of the state’s best teams a fight in Lexington, East Carter’s girls basketball team returned to the region with an iron fist last Thursday afternoon.
A seven-point lead at the end of one, grew into another blowout victory for the Lady Raiders, as they made work of 9th Region opponent Beechwood, taking home a 62-45 victory in the first round of the Ohio River Cities Classic in Greenup County.
Sophomore center Kelsey Stumbo showed her versatility in the first period, picking up two three pointers, while junior guard Megan Stickler added a third for East.
East Carter held a 15-8 advantage to end the first period.
Stumbo, who led the Lady Raiders in the scoring department with 15, said she felt her team had a slow start, but things picked up as the game went along.
“This was a good rebound game for us,” Stumbo said. “We kind of got of to a slow start, but we started to play better on the offensive end as the game progressed.”
Like the first quarter, East’s girls once again picked up 15 points in the second period. A balanced scoring effort, in which five Lady Raiders scratched the scorebook, helped East Carter build its halftime lead to 10 at 30-20.
The third period served as the pull away point for East, as Stumbo had another big quarter for blue and white, adding six to her point total.
By the time Ashley Bayes and Haley Hall added four points apiece, the Lady Raiders lead had grown to 48-31 at the end of three, putting the game out of reach for the Lady Tigers.
“This team has grown so much closer since last season, and I think it has made a big difference for us,” Stumbo said. “We’ve been working hard in practice, and that has made a big difference for us as well.”
Stickler equaled Stumbo’s point output with 15, six of which came in the fourth quarter. Kristen Mayo had nine, Bryanna Greenhill chipped in with seven and Haley Hall had six.
East Carter and West Carter face off this Friday in the first round of “The Battle for Carter County” in Grayson.
Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Grant Stevens can be reached at gstevens@journal-times.com or by telephone at 1-800-247-6142.
