Taylorsville holds off Enterprise come back
By By Robby Atkinson / staff writer
Feb. 18, 2004
ENTERPRISE The Enterprise Lady Bulldogs saw their hopes of a possible South State tournament appearance go up in smoke, as the Taylorsville Lady Tartars held off a late rally to take a first-round, 52-46 win over the Lady Bulldogs in the opening night of the Division 7-2A tournament at Enterprise.
Enterprise wrapped up the season with an overall record of 14-14, and head coach Tommy Perkins said he was very proud of the excellent effort his young group of Lady Bulldogs showed in the six-point loss Tuesday night.
The Lady Tartars led 18-8 at the end of the first quarter as eighth grader Ashley Lee led Taylorsville with 12 points in the first quarter of action. Taylorsville opened the second quarter with two straight baskets from Lee to extend the lead to 22-8 with 6:56 until the end of the first half.
Enterprise cut the lead to 28-18 at the end of the first half thanks to three straight baskets by Brittany Speed to give the Lady Bulldogs a small dose of momentum heading into the second half.
The Lady Bulldogs came out of the dressing room scoring two buckets to make the score 28-22, with 5:34 left in the third quarter. Speed and Kacey Jimmerson combined to cut into the large deficit at the beginning of the second half with the two baskets.
The bad news for the Lady Bulldogs would come with just 25 seconds left in the third quarter, as Jimmerson fouled out of the game early leaving Enterprise without its leading scorer.
The Lady Tartars led 37-24 at the end of the fourth quarter, but Enterprise attempted to make a comeback in the final eight minutes.
The Lady Bulldogs went on a 14-1 run that cut the lead to 48-43, with 2:28 left in the game. After a time out, Enterprise snatched another quick basket by Speed to make the score 48-45, with 2:01 left in the fourth.
Taylorsville caused three turnovers in the final two minutes and hit several clutch free throws to take the win.
Speed led the Enterprise charge with a team-high 18 points, and Jessica Gray added 11 points in the final game for the Lady Bulldogs. Lee led Taylorsville with a game-high 25 points.
Taylorsville moves on to the semifinal round game against Bay Springs Thursday at 4 p.m.
Taylorsville (boys) 70
Clarkdale 26
The Bulldogs ended their season with a loss to Taylorsville and finished the season with a 7-16 record.
Taylorsville started the game on an 8-0 run, but Clarkdale cut the lead to 9-7 at the end of the first quarter with several baskets from Shannon Henley.
The rest of the night belonged to the Tartars, as Taylorsville jumped out to a 26-9 lead, with a 17-2 scoring run in the second quarter. Richard Moffett led the run with eight points in the paint, and Deran Hamilton scored five points in the run.
Hamilton led the way with a game-high 17 points, and Moffett added 16 points in the win for the Tartars. Justin Wilson and Douglas Keyes each scored 10 points in the victory for Taylorsville. Henley led Clarkdale with 10 points, and Scott Benson added five.
Taylorsville moves on to play top-seeded Heidelberg on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
