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Lady Indians win opener for new coach
• Indians lose by one to Wildcats By CLAUDE VINSON
Sports Editor  | Photo by Barry Burleson
Driving
Byhalia’s Erica Bougard (12) goes to the goal Saturday. At far left is teammate Megan Rayford. |
The
Byhalia Lady Indians opened their 2010-11 campaign on the hardwood with
a victory over the visiting Independence Lady Wildcats Saturday night. The
game was the first outing for new head coach Renee Crenshaw, who was
hired over the summer. Coach Crenshaw comes from Southwind High School
in Memphis, Tenn., where she had coached for six years. This
was the season opener for both teams and the tip went to Byhalia.
Megan Rayford put the Lady Indians on the board quickly from the
charity stripe. Both teams were a bit erratic and missed few close-in
baskets. The score was tied and a three-point stalemate lasted a few
minutes before Erica Bougard and Rayford adjusted the thermostat. They
teamed up and engineered a few takeovers which had the Lady Indians in
front 15-5 in the first six minutes of the opening frame. Even with
subs, the lead grew to 23-7 at quarter’s end.  |  | Photos by Barry Burleson
New leaders for Byhalia squads
Renee
Crenshaw (left photo, second from right) and Donald Bryant (right
photo, far right) are the new head basketball coaches at Byhalia. |
The
Lady Wildcats picked up their game in the second frame. Their shots
started to fall and they were getting to the line often. They soon
narrowed the gap to 28-21. Both teams were showing plenty hustle and
were seemingly prepared to scrap. They were not afraid to hit the
floor. Independence was settling down and with 1:25 had cut the Byhalia
lead to three at 30-27. At half-time, it was 33-29. The
Lady ’Cats came out clawing in the third and took the lead for the
first time at 38-37 on a turnaround bucket by Jerricka Cole. Both teams
shot selection and accuracy had improved and the scores were growing. Byhalia had grabbed the lead by one point at the end of the third at 51-50. Coach
Crenshaw was a study in animation as she verbally pushed the Lady
Indians on in the fourth quarter. And it was slice and dice time for
Bougard. She was definitely reprising her role from last season. She
unleashed her three ball and gave Byhalia a 16-point lead before
retiring. The Lady Indians then coasted to a 76-69 win. Bougard led the floor and her team with 20 points. Rayford threw in 16 and Sandricka Sessom pitched in 15. The visitors were led by Cole with 18, followed by Camia O’neal with 14 and Jasmine Newsom with 10. Byhalia’s next outing was Tuesday at Ashland. They then visit H.W. Byers next Tuesday, Nov. 16. Indians fall one short versus Independence The
Indians also welcomed a new head coach for the 2010-11 season. Donald
Bryant was hired to take the reins of the squad. Bryant said he has
been in the coaching business for about a dozen years and he brings
some credit with him. Bryant won a state championship with the 1A East
Lowndes County girls in 2004. He sat out the 2009-10 season. The
Indians followed the Lady Indians in their Saturday night contest
against Independence. At the start of the game neither team seemed
timid about shooting the long ball. None were falling but they were
still letting them fly. Neiko Simmons put the visitors on the board
first with a fast break.  | Pressure
Labrandon Walker (right, 12) of Byhalia tries for the steal. |
Then Labrandon Walker
hit his trey and he was followed immediately with one from Angelo
Powell and the Indians were off and running. This put the Indians ahead
at 16-13.They were still ramping it up at quarter’s end with a 21-16
mark. The Wildcats made a battle of it in the
second quarter with Antwan Cathey leading the way. He was doing most of
his damage on the inside. Aiding by the play making efforts of Jeral
Avant they were just one point behind the hosts at intermission with
the score at 33-32. The Wildcats opened the
second half with a trey and due to cold shooting by the Indians quickly
took an eight-point lead. Byhalia was down by seven points and their
crowd in a quiet lull until Kenyatta Jones broke away for two
consecutive dunks. He stuck another running lay-up to move his team
within one at 52-51. A Wildcat was fouled and went to the line and
completed one of two to make it 53-52 after three. The
fourth frame turned into a basket-for-basket contest with the one-point
lead flipping back and forth. It came down to a three-point difference
in the favor of the visitors with 40 seconds remaining. Courtney Warren
knotted it with a trey but a Byhalia foul sent Independence to the
line. The shooter canned one of two. The Indians had just one chance to
deny Independence the victory and it failed. The Wildcats won 72-71. Jones
led the Indians and all shooters with 23. Next was Warren with 15, and
Powell rounded out the scoring in the double figures range with 11. Scoring high for the visitors was Avant with 20. Cathey had 19 and Simmons 13. The Indians. next game was at Ashland Tuesday. They play at H.W. Byers next Tuesday, Nov. 16. |
