Lady Tigers thump R.C. Hatch
Demopolis used a 14-3 second quarter run to put R.C. Hatch squarely in the rearview mirror on the way to a 49-31 win Friday night.
“I was very pleased with the energy that they came out with. It is a big ball game because they know the girls,” Demopolis coach Tony Pittman said. “They were able to come out and execute amongst all this. I was very pleased with that.”
Erica Bennett highlighted a career night against her former school with a half-court buzzer-beater to leave Demopolis up 15-9 after the first quarter of play.
Bennett went on to lead all scorers with 19 points, five assists, five steals and three rebounds on a night when she served as the primary catalyst for the Lady Tigers’ offense.
“She had a good night, offensively and defensively as well. Her intensity on the defensive end helped us a lot because everybody else rises to that occasion,” Pittman said of the junior R.C. Hatch transfer. “She was knocking down some shots and creating some opportunities for other people as well. It was a good night for her tonight.”
Ivery Moore added 13 points for the Lady Tigers. The win came in Demopolis High’s first game after losing standout 6-0 center Caleb Washington to a foot injury.
“It changes our identity, but it also allows us to put someone in that position whose able to do more things than Caleb on the floor, which has really helped us to spread the floor and do more things that we want to do,” Pittman said of the loss of Washington. “Even though she is a big loss, I think it is going to really open the floor up for us.”
The absence left an already young team turning to even more inexperienced players including freshmen Darnesha Harris and Randeja Warren.
Harris made her presence felt Friday with a game-high 10 rebounds.
“It is confidence for her. If I can get her to believe in herself, she can put up 10 and 10 every night. Tonight was a big step toward that,” Pittman said. “She has got big shoes to fill with Caleb and I really believe she is making a positive step toward that tonight.”
Warren played impactful minutes off the bench with four points and five rebounds in limited action.
“We’ve been asking her to do that all year. She has the capability of putting the ball on the floor and creating some things for not only herself, but her teammates as well. The opportunity was there tonight and she took advantage of it,” Pittman said. “I hope she continues to do it.”
R.C. Hatch saw Patiniqua Collins lead the way with 11 points and eight rebounds while Narcisse Howard added eight points and six steals.
Demopolis is set for a busy week next week with a road trip to Sumter Central Monday, mid-week home games against Selma and Pickens County and a Friday contest at Linden.