Lady Tigers cruise past Fort Scott

Friday, December 4, 2015
Nevada eighth-grader Payge Dahmer drives into the lane while being guarded by Fort School Middle School's Kyra Pryor, during Nevada's Tuesday night home-victory. (Matthew Resnick/Daily Mail)

The Nevada Lady Tigers eighth-grade basketball team played in front of its home-crowd for the final time, throttling Fort Scott Middle School 44-2 Tuesday night.

The victory improves NMS to 9-1 overall.

Nevada led 20-2 after one quarter of play before increasing its lead to 24 at halftime.

"It was a solid performance," Lady Tigers head coach Danny Penn said. "The thing that I was most proud of was the fact that our intensity never waned. In earlier games this year we would get a big lead and just be kind of content with it and coast.

"The one thing I challenged our team to do tonight was to play a full four quarters."

For Nevada guard Payge Dahmer scored a game high 16 points while connecting on 4-of-4 free throws.

Penn said he was happy with Dahmer's performance but even more pleased with his team's crisp ball movement.

"We've been working on not holding onto the ball and getting stagnant ---- but moving the ball around," Penn said. "That's going to open the lanes for cutters."

On multiple occasions during the contest Dahmer utilized a pump-fake to get her defender in the air and then drive to the basket for a score.

"I've asked the girls to work on pump-fakes in practice. I'm happy that Payge is listening to me," Penn said with a chuckle.

"The pump-fake is a very simple and effective tool, especially against a defense that is over-aggressive."

Nevada led 40-2 after three quarters of play before outsocring Fort Scott 4-0 in the final frame.

Penn said his squad still needs to make strides in the rebounding department.

"For as much athleticism as we have, we just have a mental block when it comes to blocking out and rebounding," he said. "And it's not because of a lack of effort. So that's going to be our focus in practice as well as better on-ball defense."

Nevada Lady Tigers eighth-grade point guard Calli Beshore splits two Fort Scott players on her way to the basket during the A-team's 44-2 victory Tuesday night at home. With the win, Nevada moved to 9-1 on the year. (Matthew Resnick/Daily Mail)

For Nevada, Forward Teagan Charles finished with 13 points while point guard Calli Beshore added 10.

Lady Tigers B-team

The Nevada Lady Tigers eighth-grade B-team defeated Fort Scott 36-11.

The B-team led 20-7 at halftime and then outscored Fort Scott 10-0 in the third quarter to grab a 30-7 lead.

For the B-team, Lindsay Phebus scored a team-high 12 points, Lindley Ferry 10, while Madison Hyder, Shelby Masters, and Kate Burch added four points apiece. Alexis Leighty chipped in with two points.

"I thought the B-team did a good job of just relaxing and playing," Penn said.

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