Kaegan Young brings the ball up the court and sets up the Cascade offense. She finished with a game-high 22 points. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
BELL BUCKLE — It was a bit of a sluggish start in the first half for the Cascade Lady Champions on Friday night against Cannon County.
But after the halftime intermission, Cascade erupted for 40 points in the second half and buried the Lionettes, 59-48.
Cascade did the bulk of its offensive work in the first half by working to the free throw line, where the Lady Champs cashed in on 9-of-12 tries.
Cascade also got a pair of timely first-half three-pointers from Suzanna Crews and Kaegan Young to help the Lady Champs battle to a 19-19 tie at halftime.
Out of the break, there was no denying Cascade.
Caroline Parker scored six points out of the intermission and Kaegan Young continued to battle her way to the free throw line where she made 3-of-4 attempts in the third period.
With the Lady Champions finding balance between Young’s ability to get to the line and Parker’s ability to find the open shot, Cascade was able to counter Cannon County’s game plan of playing through Elly Bain in the low post.
Bain’s size advantage gave Cannon County a mismatch in the paint and although she was able to give the Lionettes a spark with 20 points to lead the visitors, Cascade’s balance proved too much, notably late in the game.
While Parker gave Cascade a spark in the third period, it was Lizzie Keele who came up with a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to help Cascade pull away.
Much like she had done through the bulk of regulation, Young was able to draw fouls and get to the line and in the fourth quarter, shot 5-of-6 attempts.
In total, Young’s 22 points led all scorers, while Parker and Keele both hit double figures as well, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
As a team, the Lady Champs connected on 18-of-26 tries and shot 42% from the floor on the night.
Cannon Co. 7 12 16 13 — 48
Cascade 7 12 20 20 — 59
Cascade: Kaegan Young 20, Caroline Parker 11, Lizzie Keele 10, Lexi Comstock 6, Suzanna Crews 6, Jade Tolar 3, Makenzie Fisher.
3-point goals: Cascade (5): Crews 2, Tolar, Young, Keele.
Halftime score: Cascade 19, Cannon Co. 19