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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Newcastle’s Camren Mallory attempts a shot over a Garner defender Tuesday, Jan. 14. Mallory was one of the key pieces for the team during the game which resulted in a 59-17 victory. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Rae’Lynn Bennett crosses the court to look for an open Ladycats’ teammate during their Tuesday, Jan. 14 game against Garner. The team will travel Tuesday, Jan. 21 for a 6 p.m. matchup against Throckmorton. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Mattie Dollar outmaneuvers a Garner player in their Tuesday, Jan. 14 matchup which resulted in another big district win for the Ladycats. The team has moved to 4-0 in district and 14-8 overall for their season.
The Ladycats continued to be a force on the court, securing their fourth district win this week against the Garner Lady Longhorns and moving to 4-0 in district play.
Tuesday's home game marked the team's eighth consecutive win overall this season.
Head coach Ryan Dollar said each team they play brings a fight for the Newcastle team and allows them to grow.
“I think it’s one of those deals when we talk about the girls, (where) just everybody that comes to play us, or we go play, is going to give us their best shot right off the bat,” Dollar said. “I thought Garner did a good job, slowed us down a little bit for a couple of minutes and made us think and work. We got a few steals in the middle of the late first quarter and opened it up a little bit.”
The Ladycats made their skills known in the first quarter at home Jan. 14, allowing only two points from the Lady Longhorns while putting 25 on the board, 12 of which came from Mattie Dollar with another seven from Camren Mallory.
“The girls are playing hard. We’re learning (and) I’m adding stuff,” Coach Dollar said. “I think we added four things yesterday, offensively, and so I’m kind of overloading their brain a little bit, and they’re responding really well.”
The fight did not stop there with the Ladycats putting another 21 points on the board while holding Garner to only seven moving into halftime.
The scoring run slowed into the third quarter for Newcastle, but the quarter ended up belonging to Ladycats which brought 10 points while holding Garner to zero.
By the end of the quarter the Newcastle team was ahead by 47 points.
The Lady Longhorns brought some fire to the fourth quarter, scoring eight points, the most in any of the quarters in the game for the team.
The Ladycats were also held to only three points, a 2-point jump shot from Evie May and one point from a free throw from Kenna Mahan.
Despite Garner’s drive near the end, it was not enough to stoke the fire the Ladycats brought the entire game which ended with a 59-17 win for Newcastle.
Leading in scoring for the Ladycats was Mattie Dollar with 29 points, followed by Mallory with 11 points, Emma Hawkins with eight points, Kenzie King and Sophie Terrell with four points, Evie May with two points and Kenna Mahan with one point.
The head coach said after the Newcastle team finishes up the first half of district Friday, Jan. 17 traveling to Woodson, they will start getting playoff opponents in their sights.
“Once we get through that, then hopefully we can kind of start picking apart playoff opponents and those types of things,” Coach Dollar said. “But again, everybody we play they come for us, and that’s going to happen all year long through the playoffs and whatever else. We’ve just got to be ready to handle that first bunch and go from there.”
