By Zachary Reaves
MTN Sports Reporter
As tournament time approaches, two of the top girls’ teams in district seven class 3A squared off Tuesday night. The Blackman Lady Blaze came into the game riding a nine-game win streak with a record of 18-5, while the Stewarts Creek Lady Hawks came in with four-game win streak and a record of 17-5.
Both the Lady Blaze and Lady Hawks came out aggressive wanting to get the ball down low to the post. Blackman was more affective in their approach and started the game on a 9-0 run. Players Iyana Moore and Joelle Moore led the attack in the first half, both finishing the game with 10 points.
On the other hand, Stewarts Creek had issues putting the ball in the basket, and finding stops on defense. The aggressive attitude was something Blackman had planned from the start.
“We wanted to focus on being aggressive and get to the rim if we could," said Blackman coach Wendi Scott. "Our defense was a big focus in the first half, we did a really good job of moving our feet and not giving them any easy baskets."
As time was running down in the second quarter, Blackman needed a spark. Backup Emily Monson entered the game and immediately made an impact. Monson scored six of her 10 points in the closing minutes of the first half to help push the lead to 31-12 going into the break.
“She has a lot of energy, and that is something we always talk about is people coming off the bench and giving us a spark," Scott said.
The second half was not any different as Blackman continued to dominate. They cruised to a 17-point win, and hopefully gained some momentum heading into the most important part of the season.
“I feel like things are coming together for us, and we are playing confident we are tough to beat,” said Scott.
Blackman improved to 19-5 and goes on the road to face Rockvale. Stewarts Creek drops to 17-6 and faces Siegel on Friday night.