Kelly, Bloodworth lead Greyhound women in opener

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- Sophomores Valencia Kelly and Sherokee Bloodworth led Fort Scott Community College's women in their season opener here Thursday night, a 77-59 victory over the University of St. Mary junior varsity.

Kelly scored 20 points to lead the Greyhounds while Bloodworth added 12. Choima Okoronkwo put in 11 points and Kasey Teich and Shadara Hampton chipped in with 9 each.

"What a great way to start the season off," new Fort Scott head coach Diana Couch said. "We not just proud of our team for winning but more for how it occurred: Teamwork. We were patient in our offensive sets and looked to distribute the ball to everyone. All our players contributed to the win and that is what made the first one so special."

The 'Hounds have just nine players but all of them scored at least 4 points.

Kelly went three of three from 3-point range and reached double figures for the eighth consecutive time going back to last season.

"I asked Valencia after the game if she felt it was a hard 20 points," Couch said, "meaning did she feel like she really had to work to get them. Her response was, 'No, Coach. It didn't seem hard and my teammates really helped to get me set up.' That summarizes our new philosophy here at Fort Scott: Set your teammates up for success, set yourself up for success."

Bloodworth set a new personal best as she reached double figures for the first time as a Greyhound.

"Sherokee really stepped up and did some things we hadn't seen in the pre-season," Couch said. "We are really looking for her to be a steady contributor and it was nice to see her comfortable on the floor."

The Greyhounds will face Barton County this afternoon at 4 p.m. at Arnold Arena.

FORT SCOTT: Bloodworth 5 1-1 12, Teich 3 0-0 9, Hampton 4 0-0 9, Mattox 2 0-0 4, Demery 3 1-1 7, Kelly 7 3-4 20, Hathaway 3 0-0 6, Okoronkwo 1 2-2 4, Jackson 3 0-1 6. TOTALS 31 7-9 77.

ST. MARY JV: Warren 2 0-0 5, Harper 2 1-3 5, Arney 0 0-0 0, Stacks 3 1-4 9, Garcia 4 7-10 15, Habib 2 0-0 5, Epping 3 2-2 8, Ordaz 2 1-2 5, Sunderman 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 20 13-23 59.

Halftime: n/a.

Three-point field goals: Fort Scott 8 (Teich 3, Kelly 3, Bloodworth, Hampton), St. Marys JV 6 (Stacks 2, Warren, Habib, Ordaz, Sunderman).