The Southside Seahawks women’s basketball team opened up conference play on Friday with a decisive road victory over the Bear Grass Lady Bears, 51-38.

 

The Seahawks flew out of the gate with an athletically superior offensive tempo, leaving the Lady Bears struggling to keep pace early on. Senior Breonna Blango set the tone in the first quarter by burning the Lady Bear’s transition defense and scoring the first five points of the game.

 

Quality guard play from junior Angelica Tisdale, who ended with 10 points on the night, allowed the offense to operate smoothly and the forwards to take advantage of their undersized opponent. The dynamic defensive duo of Kyajia Mourning and Tia Hardy left the Bear Grass guards unable to penetrate down low, resulting in contested mid-range jumpers and costly turnovers.

 

“They had trouble handling our size at the start and they got flustered,” said Coach Bill Lake. “We did not play the defense they expected us to be in, and I think that lead to a lot of turnovers.”

 

Despite the size and athleticism of Southside, Bear Grass stayed afloat and trailed by just 11 at the half.

 

Lake would bench Mourning for the majority of the second half, but his defense managed to remain prevalent down the stretch. Switching from a man to a zone defense, the Seahawks continued to force turnovers and use their size to their advantage. Hardy’s offensive rebounds transformed into offensive putbacks, as the Lady Bears were unable to stop her down low in the second half.

 

“I’ve been trying to get [Tia Hardy] to put the ball in the basket more,” said Lake. “She’s been very unselfish earlier in the year. Tonight she came out and played really well for us. She helped us get our intensity going.”

 

Hardy ended with seven points on the night, Blango with nine and Mourning with eight. The Seahawks improved to just 3-7 on the season, but with conference play in its infancy, the win is undoubtedly a morale booster.

 

 “I was very pleased with the way the girls came out and played on defense,” said Lake. “It was the best [the year] by far defensively.”

 

The Seahawks will continue conference play on Tuesday when they face off against Jones Senior on the road at 6 p.m.

 

 

David Cucchiara is the sports editor for The Washington Daily News and can be contacted by email at david.cucchiara@thewashingtondailynews.com.