BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Elementary basketball action tipped off in Martin County with Eden getting two big wins over Inez and Louisa East last week.
Below is a recap of last week’s action:
Inez at Eden
Eden hosted Inez to begin county play Sept. 14. Both teams started out cold by exchanging missed layups. Eden’s KK Maynard struck a match and nailed a 3-pointer to get the Wildcats going. She put up six more points in the first quarter.
Kennedy Mills hit two from the charity stripe to give Eden an 11-0 lead to end the first.
Defense prevailed for both teams in the second quarter as Inez and Eden both went scoreless.
Maynard hit another from behind the arc to wake the Wildcats up after halftime. Mills punched in a bucket and free throw to extend the lead to 17-0.
The Indians came alive in the final stanza. Kenleigh Estep had a field goal and free throw to provide a spark. Maddie Goble hit one from the line and Mia James grabbed a rebound for a putback for two.
Paige Stafford and Maynard each added a layup to stop the run.
Inez’s surge fell short and the Wildcats would go on to win 21-7.
Maynard finished with 14 points. Mills picked up five and Stafford added two.
For the Indians, Estep led with three points, James nailed a bucket for two and Goble added one.
Inez head coach Alison Scott has already seen improvement since the first practice.
“I’m excited the season has started. I love how hard my girls have been working to get ready,” Scott said. “I’m really proud of how we performed tonight. My girls give 100 percent all the time and I can’t ask for more than that. We’re still young; there are a lot of things we have to learn. But they listen and try their best.”
Eden head coach BJ Endicott said of his first county win, “We played hard. We started out slow but the baskets eventually started to fall. KK hit two threes and it’s not what we had planned for her. But she threw em’ up and they went in.”
Inez guard “KB” Muncy spoke about the loss.
“I think we did OK, but we need to work on our shooting,” Muncy said. “This week in practice I think we should work on dribbling and shooting the ball.”
When asked about her feelings after the loss, Muncy responded, “Ah well, we’ll try again next week.”
Inez did pull out wins from their B- and C-teams.
The B squad defeated the Wildcats 10-7. Harper Runyon had four to lead the Indians. Estep, Goble and Harmon each picked up two.
Paislee Hinkle, McKinley Fitch and Lexi Bowen had two points each for Eden and Stacy added one.
In C-team action, Inez won 4-2. Macie Callaham and Bre Kellough had four for the Indians. Aubrey Wilson had two for Eden.
Louisa East at Eden
Eden got a 24-0 blowout win over Louisa in a game Thursday at Eden.
Paige Stafford, KK Maynard and A. McGinnis dropped six points apiece, Kennedy Mills nailed two field goals for four points and Lexi Bowen added two.
The B-team defeated Louisa 20-6 behind eight points from McKinley Fitch. Paislee Hinkle picked up four points. Harleigh Maynard, Alivia Stacy, Erica Collins and Lexi Bowen contributed two points each.
“We played well,” Coach Endicott said of the shutout. “We started out early with a press but had to back off to ease up a little. I saw a lot of positive things tonight. Wished we would have gotten a little better shooting. We moved the ball really well.”
Endicott continued, “Still need to work on keeping them in the 2-3 zone. We’re working on it and we’re getting a whole lot better.”