GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Bulldogs cruise past Tigers

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on December 14, 2016 9:59 AM

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PRINCETON -- James Kenan's Tiffany Kurtz carved up Princeton's defense during the first quarter of Tuesday night's matchup.

Three-point shot after 3-point shot fell through the net. Princeton, which showed poise, never wavered. The Bulldogs diagnosed the issue and made two key adjustments.

Switch to a zone defense and feed Jazmaine McCain.

The combination allowed Princeton to surge ahead in the remaining three quarters, and take a 46-36 victory in its Carolina 1-A Conference opener.

"We went to a 1-3-1 defense, and the girls started being a little more active defensively," said Bulldogs' head coach Paula Wooten. "I thought that turned the game around. We had some turnovers and turned them into easy points."

In the first quarter, Kurtz knocked down three shots from beyond the arc. The flurry helped the Tigers race to a 15-8 advantage after eight minutes.

The lead grew to 22-12 early into the second quarter.

"We were sluggish -- very, very sluggish on defense," Wooten said. "That was the big difference. We weren't moving, getting the loose balls or getting our hands up."

Then came the defensive switch. The zone began to confuse James Kenan, and the Tigers were held scoreless for the rest of the half.

Princeton, behind a six-point quarter from McCain, used a 12-0 run to take a 24-22 lead into halftime. The senior then tallied eight points in the third quarter and six more in the fourth.

For the game, McCain scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Defensively, the Tigers were held to 14 points in the second half.

"We were trying to get it in to (McCain) because of her size," Wooten said. "And it was open. We saw in the first quarter how the post was wide open. And she's just working hard and improving a lot."

Jordan Benson added five points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Emily Ricks recorded eight points. Kurtz -- who had nine points in the first quarter -- did not score the rest of the game.

Wooten said she liked the fight her team showed when pushed against adversity.

However, the Bulldogs' coach would prefer the effort to show up earlier in the game instead of spotting the opponent an early edge.

"We need to start out like that," Wooten said. "Sometimes you get that far down and you can't fight back. And I think it takes more out of you -- my girls were tired at the end. But I'm proud of them. Everyone contributed."