By CINDY CROSBY
Cindyc4@yahoo.com
The Salkehatchie Lady Indians improved to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in Region X after three straight wins last week.
In on-the-road play against Denmark Tech on Wednesday, December 8, the Lady Indians earned a 73-63 win. Amari Hunter scored 38 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, 4 assists and had 4 steals on the evening. Jazmine Norman added 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Other scoring included Sydney Jones 7; Janise Shaw 6, Lauryn Bell 5, Omari Kirkland 4, and Shatyra Moore 1.
“Offensively, we were attacking the basket like we needed to,” said USC Indians Coach Oliva Gaines. “We forced them to turn the ball over. This game was definitely not our best win, but we are going to grow from wins as well.”
Playing at home against Fayetteville Tech on Friday, December 12, the Lady Indians were led by Hunter with 26 points, 5 assists, 9 steals and 7 rebounds. Jasmine Norman added 21 points, 3 assists, and 7 steals. Two double-doubles were recorded with Sha’Tyra Moore scoring 12 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and 4 blocks and Omari Kirkland had 12 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. Lauryn Bell had 12 points, 2 assists and 4 rebounds.
“Five kids recording double digits was very impressive,” said Gaines. “We were attacking the basket and picked up our defense. We were trailing by eight points in the fourth quarter, but my girls didn’t let me down, fighting back and making big time plays.”
The Lady Indians then outscored Patrick Henry 102-51 on Sunday, December 12 at home. Jasmine Norman scored 34 points, had 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals in the game. Hunter recorded a triple-double adding 24 points, 12 assists, 14 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 blocks on the day. Other top scoring included Kirkland, with 22 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and Moore, with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks.
“Although we have won a few tougher games, I was really proud of them as a coach because we played the way we were supposed to,” said Coach Gaines. “We shared the ball, had very few turnovers and communicated on the defensive end.”
