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NMS seventh-graders blitz Fort Scott, reach double-digit wins
Nevada Daily Mail
FORT SCOTT ---- After trouncing the Fort Scott Tigers 38-2 Tuesday night to pick up their 10th win of the season, the Nevada Middle School seventh-grade girls "A" basketball squad has now outscored opponents 97-2 over the past two games.
Nevada point guard Calli Beshore scored the first 8 points of the game, as Nevada led 16-0 after the first quarter.
Nevada head coach Danny Penn said his team's defensive play was a catalyst for their offense.
"This was another game where our defense turned into easy offense," Penn said. "Calli, Lani (Coonrod), and Payge (Dahmer) did a nice job with our full court pressure ---- and when we went to our half-court trap, Teagan (Charles) did a nice job of reading passing lanes."
On the offense side, Penn was equally as pleased.
"We again did a pretty good job of converting our layups," he said. "And (post) Jadeann (Highley) played much better tonight than last night."
Penn said there is still some offensive wrinkles that need ironing out in order for his team to reach their full potential.
"Our execution of running our actual offensive sets needs improvement," he said. "That will be a point of focus at practice tomorrow and again Friday."
For Nevada (10-1), Beshore finished with a game-high 14 points, and Highley netted 10 points.
B-team finale
The NMS B-team cruised to a 36-8 victory over Fort Scott to conclude their season, finishing at 8-1.
"We started slowly but picked up the pace in the second quarter," Penn said. "Alyssa (Wilson) did a nice job of taking the basketball to the hole. Lindley (Ferry) continued to make some good cuts and take the ball inside when it was available."
Wilson led the way for Nevada, finishing with 12 points, while Ferry added 6.
Penn said he was happy with how his team developed over the course of the season.
"I was happy with the growth of the girls on the B-team this year," he said. "A lot of them have also been major contributors to our "A" team and will continue to play throughout next week."
Penn said some of the players faced a steep learning curve, having never played organized basketball prior to the beginning of the season.
"Some of these young ladies had never played any kind of competitive basketball prior to this year," he said. "They all worked hard to get better and the results showed their progress.
"None of them ever complained and they have pushed their other teammates to get better everyday in practice. I appreciate each and every one of them and hope they come back next year as eighth-graders for another year of basketball!"
Check Friday's paper for a recap of the Nevada Middle School eighth-grade girls 25-12 loss to Fort Scott