Lady Eagles shut down Boyd

Posted on 06. Dec, 2011 by Richard Greene in Basketball (Girls), Boyd Lady Yellowjackets, Decatur Lady Eagles

By Richard Greene
In a showdown of two of Wise County’s top scorers, the work of Decatur’s Joey Redwine on the defensive end made it no contest.
Redwine limited Boyd’s Shae Williams to just one field goal and five points, while pouring in 13 of her own in the Lady Eagles’ 52-27 victory Tuesday over the Lady Yellowjackets at Decatur High School gym.
“We knew [Williams] was their go-to girl,” Redwine said. “We knew if we shut her down, we could shut them down as well.”
Decatur, who entered the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches’ Class 3A poll at No. 23 this week, moved to 10-2 with the victory. The Lady Eagles were replacing four starters from last year.
“It’s surprisingly good,” said Decatur coach Billy Garner about the start. “These kids have stepped up. They’ve been in the gym working hard in practice.”
Redwine, who came off the bench last year to play significant minutes and help the team to the region quarterfinal, said: “It’s a great start. It’s good how our confidence is building.”
Led by Redwine’s solid effort on Williams, the Lady Eagles shut down Boyd offensively. The Lady Yellowjackets went 8-for-30 from the field. Boyd managed just three baskets after halftime as Decatur went on a 27-13 run.
“We did a good job defensively,” Garner said. “We were concentrating on Williams. Joey did a great job against her.”
Along with struggling to hit shots, the Lady Yellowjackets turned the ball over 16 times. They had six in the third quarter as they managed only four points.
“Our youth caught up with us tonight,” said Boyd coach Lynn Cranfill. “We were making freshman mistakes all night.”
Decatur also controlled the boards, outrebounding Boyd 35-15. Redwine pulled down six. Katie Isham also had six boards to go along with nine points.
“We’re doing a decent job of rebounding,” Garner said. “More times you rebound, the more shots you get.”
Decatur led throughout. Murphy Graham’s three-pointer gave the Lady Eagles a 13-7 lead in the final minute of the first quarter. They led 15-7 going into the second quarter.
Chelsea Landes opened the second frame with a three-pointer and a free throw to pull Boyd within four, 15-11. Landes led the Lady Yellowjackets with 10.
Boyd never got closer as Decatur used a 6-0 run capped by an Allie Handlon three-pointer to stretch the lead to 10, 21-11.
Decatur led 25-14 at halftime.
Graham pushed Decatur’s lead to 20, 36-16, with a three-pointer with 1:05 left in the third quarter.
Decatur took its largest advantage, 28, with two minutes left in the game.
Boyd fell to 8-2 with loss. The Lady Yellowjackets will open District 10-2A with Godley at home Tuesday.
“To open up with Godley is a tall task,” Cranfill said. “But our kids come to practice hard every day and will play as hard as they can.”