Linden ladies trump Sweet Water

SWEET WATER—Linden’s Lady Patriots (4-1) pitched a second period shutout Tuesday before cruising to a 54-30 victory over the hosting Sweet Water Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Pats, coming off their first loss of the season, bounced back from the lone defeat by way of good defense and a balanced scoring attack. Five different Lady Pats contributed on Linden’s first five field goal conversions, with four of those made buckets a product of assists. Charquell Compton led the early charge, scoring six opening-period points for her Patriot squad.

The first period saw a fairly competitive eight minutes with SWHS and LHS exchanging baskets, keeping the Lady Bulldogs firmly in reach throughout. Madison Beck led the charge for SWHS with six points. Beck also, and maybe more importantly, provided the Lady Bulldogs with a presence in and around the rim, allowing her team to win the rebound battle in the early going.

That all would change in the second when Linden locked down defenders, forcing ill-advised shots that would result in easy transition buckets for the Lady Pats. Eight of LHS’s 16 second-period points came courtesy of breakaways.

Although SWHS did miss a few decent looks, the execution of closeout assignments by LHS should not go unrecognized. All of these factors would equate to a 16-0 second period run by Linden, putting the Lady Patriots in firm control heading into intermission with a lead of 31-11.

Alexis Johnson led the second half charge for Linden, rattling off 13 points after the break. As a unit, LHS outscored the Bulldogs 23-19 in the second half, never giving way to dramatic conversation. The final push produced a final score of 54-30.

“We came out sluggish tonight,” Linden coach Teressa Bolden said of her Lady Patriots. “We’ve got to do a better job in transition, on the boards and at the free-throw line. We’ve got to work and improve on that and more, especially with area play just around the corner.”

Linden will be back home on Thursday when they host the R.C. Hatch High Lady Bobcats.

Linden’s Johnson had a game high in points with 23.

Imiya Agee reached double figures as well with 13 points, followed by Compton who finished with eight.

Andrea Landrum would be the only Lady Bulldog in double figures. She finished with 12 points, all of which came in the second half.

Beck finished with eight for Sweet Water.