South Pointe girls blast Clinton
Just as Clinton’s girls’ basketball team scored at the buzzer of Tuesday night’s game at South Pointe, Stallions coach Stephanie Butler slyly but firmly put the sole of her foot into the chair sitting behind her, knocking it over.
Based on that action, it would not have been clear that Butler’s team had just beaten the visiting Red Devils 72-25.
“Just trying to get focused,” she said. “We had the holiday yesterday and we’ve got three games this week. We’re playing better, we’re doing some things better, but we’ve still got a lot of things we’ve got to work on.”
Butler said her team’s offensive execution is better, the team is moving to defensive spots better, and the younger Stallions are starting to get the hang of varsity basketball. Tuesday night’s blowout gave South Pointe a chance to work on all of those things ahead of a big game Friday against Lancaster.
Turning point
It took South Pointe about two and a half minutes to get on the scoreboard - Butler cited a couple of missed layups - but the Stallions made up for squandered time quickly. Izzy Clark’s steal and coast-to-coast layup gave the hosts their first lead (4-2), and the Stallions held Clinton without a field goal the rest of the quarter, building a 12-3 lead.
Early in the second, Sydney Chisholm buried a 3 from the left elbow, then stole the ball and took it in for a layup. T’Keia Williams’ steal and dish to Clark for another easy two made it 19-5 and forced a timeout. The visitors never got the score any closer.
Critical
South Pointe labored a bit early on against Clinton’s zone defense, but once the Stallions stretched their own defense out toward midcourt, the turnovers - and easy layups - came in droves. The halfcourt offense work was useful with tougher games on the horizon.
“We’ve seen mostly zone all year,” said Butler. “Just trying to work on our execution in the zone. Sydney (Chisholm) was able to knock down some shots tonight so I’m happy for her.”
Star contributions
Chisholm and All-State senior Izzy Clark led South Pointe with 17 points each, while T’Keia Williams added 12. Clark is such a smooth player for the Stallions, a steadying influence in a team that loves to run up and down the floor.
Overheard
“The Lord’s blessed us,” said Butler. “We haven’t had any injuries yet.”
On deck
South Pointe plays Nation Ford Wednesday night in a non-region tilt before a big one Friday against region rival Lancaster. The Stallions lost twice last season to the eventual 3A state champs from Lancaster by a total of six points.
Box score
South Pointe 72, Clinton 25
Clinton;3;6;9;7- 25
South Pointe;12;20;21;19- 72
Clinton: Savanna Campbell 6, Ticambrius Copeland 8, Shauna Goforth 3, M.K. Kelly 7, Olivia Hamrick 1. South Pointe: Scarlett Gilmore 6, T’Kaja Williams 8, Izzy Clark 17, Whitney Carter 1, Brittany Carter 4, Sydney Chisholm 17, Keamari Hinton 6, T’Keia Williams 12, Joanna Roberson 1.
Team fouls: Clinton 12; South Pointe 11
Foul-shooting: Clinton 6-12; South Pointe 9-19
3-pointers: Clinton 3 (Campbell 2, Kelly 1); South Pointe 3 (Chisholm 3)
Records: Clinton 2-13; South Pointe 9-4, 4-0 Region 3-3A.
This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 8:35 PM with the headline "South Pointe girls blast Clinton."