The Switzerland County Lady Pacers battled the state-ranked Southwestern Lady Rebels early in last Thursday’s game, trailing by just two points at the first quarter break; but a 30-point second quarter for Southwestern pushed the Lady Rebels out in front to stay, pulling away in the second half to record a 79-49 victory.
The first period saw Switzerland County’s Amber Smith drill a three-pointer; while April Thieman and Courtney Cole had baskets and Morgan Ross made two freethrows to draw Switzerland County to within two, 11-9, at the first break.
The second quarter was all Southwestern, as the Lady Rebels outscored Switzerland County 30-10 in the period to take a 41-19 lead at the first half.
The Lady Pacers got scoring from Courtney Cole, Kristen Perry, Maggie Armstrong, April Thieman, and Amber Smith, but suffered through two spans of nearly two minutes each when they failed to score.
Southwestern kept the pressure up, getting 13 points from Kendall Withered in the quarter and seven from Devin Brierly.
Down by 22 opening the third period, Switzerland County kept fighting, closing the gap with key plays only to see Southwestern find an answer to keep the Lady Pacers at bay. By the end of the third stanza, Switzerland County found itself trailing by 28 points, 63-35.
The final quarter saw the two team play even basketball, as both coaches substituted liberally. The final margin of victory was 30 points for Southwestern, but Switzerland County never stopped hustling during the entire game.
Senior Courtney Cole was the leading scorer for the Lady Pacers, finishing with 17 points. Amber Smith was also in double figures, as she finished with 11; and both Morgan Ross and Kristen Perry had six points.
April Thieman had five points; and Carrie Truax and Maggie Armstrong both added two.
Southwestern was led by four players in double figures: Kendall Withered had 17; Devin Brierly had 14; Kelsey Jones had 11; and Sarah Roth finished with 10.
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In the junior varsity game, Switzerland County fell to Southwestern by a final score of 37-16.
Jenna Daugherty and Carrie Truax each had six points to lead the Lady Pacers; while Halie Smith had two points; and Kristen Perry and Casey Sharp each chipped in one.