Junior Lady Seminoles top Harrisburg

OSCEOLA - The Junior Lady Noles pleased the home crowd as their defense came up big in a decisive 36-5 win over Harrisburg on Monday night. Regan High led Osceola with nine points in the victory. Lema Hooks was a force on the glass and also added seven points.

Osceola applied heavy pressure throughout the game, trapping and swarming the Hornets on defense. They held Harrisburg scoreless in the first quarter and took an early 9-0 lead. Four Noles starters scored in the first period, as S.K. Woods, Nayasia Richmond, Kaitlyn Kuykendall, and Hooks all found the net. Reginae Jackson got on the board in the following quarter. High began her damage in the second period, scoring her first basket after getting a steal and following up with another basket before halftime, giving her team a 15-1 lead at the break.

The Hornets scored first in the second half, but had trouble taking care of the ball as the Lady Noles read their passes and forced several changes of possession through jump balls. Richmond and Hooks provided three points each in the third quarter, and the Noles held the Hornets scoreless again throughout the fourth quarter.

Junior Lady Noles Kenneth Thomas said the defense was part of his team’s identity. “That’s something we try to implement against teams. It’s our way of forcing turnovers and speeding up the game.”, he said.

Looking forward, he wants his team to continue playing hard for all four quarters. “That’s something we have to do every game. We face Hoxie next and they gave us a tough loss last time. We won’t be able to take any quarters off against them.”