KNOXVILLE — “We’re not going to give it back.”
That’s how Scott High coach Jake Wright summed up his team’s 56-46 win at Knox Carter on Tuesday, Jan. 19. In other words: it wasn’t the prettiest of victories, but a win is a win.
The Lady Highlanders led most of the game — including by as much as 12 points in the third quarter — as they picked up their second win of the season. But it wouldn’t come as easy as that, as Carter stormed back to take a brief lead late in the third quarter before Scott put the Hornets away.
Sydney Hurst came alive in the second half for Carter. She scored 17 of her game-high 20 points in the third and fourth quarters to lead the Hornets’ comeback effort.
Ultimately, though, Carter could not overcome a Scott High defense that forced a multitude of turnovers, and the Hornets were unable to capitalize on the Lady Highlanders’ missed free throws.
The free throw line was just one of the things that made the game less than pretty. Scott High — which had been shooting well from the line in recent weeks — made just 48% of their attempts and missed 6 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter alone.
That is often a recipe for defeat, but something else happened in the fourth quarter: Zoey Terry. The sophomore scored eight points, getting to the rim and scoring off offensive rebounds, to help Scott High stay in front and eventually pull off a 56-46 win. Terry also had a team-leading seven rebounds.
The Lady Highlanders started the game strong. Julia Butts knocked down two first quarter 3-pointers to begin her 17-point night, and Scott limited Carter to just five points defensively. Despite a cold start shooting the ball, the Lady Highlanders led by seven after the first quarter.
The lead grew to 12 points by the half, 28-16, before Carter began chipping away at it in the third quarter. Hurst had nine points in the third, while Emily Irwin scored seven in the third to pace the Hornets’ charge.
But Irwin was able to score just once in the fourth quarter, and Scott High changed the pace of the game by jumping into a pressing defense that kept Carter off-balance.
Senior Callie Carson had a big game, with 13 points, eight assists and six steals. Butts finished with four assists and three steals. Julie Lewallen had eight points that proved crucial, and Rachel Garrett had a pair of blocked shots in the fourth quarter.
SCOTT (56): Butts 17, Carson 13, Terry 10, Lewallen 8, Doran 4, B. Jeffers 2, Garrett 2.
CARTER (46): Hurst 20, Irwin 11, McSwain 11, Collins 2, Lampkin 2.
