Lady Mules dominate Cape Central

The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules basketball team defeated the Cape Central Lady Tigers 58-35 on a cold, wet Tuesday night at Mules Gymnasium.

A slow start by the Lady Mules shifted late in the first quarter with four consecutive free throws that spurred on a series of scoring runs to give Poplar Bluff a big lead at halftime. Another run to open the second half opened a gap on the scoreboard that the visiting Lady Tigers were unable to overcome.

“I think we did a good job working together,” said Lady Mules head coach Soley Dugas. “I think it was a good team win, a solid effort from everyone. We’re trying to get the girls to buy into doing their job and playing their role. Some nights, your role is to score, some nights your role is to rebound, and some nights your role is to cheer your teammates on.

“I think they did a really good job of buying into their roles and doing whatever they could to help the team, and it showed.”

The Lady Mules’ leading scorer was junior guard Jadyn Brandon with a game-high 17 points. Senior Ireland Gowen also scored 12 points.

The Lady Tigers’ Abby Davenport led her team with 11 points.

Poplar Bluff improved to 13-9 on the season, while Cape Central fell to 8-11.

The game started without much scoring for either team, with Cape holding an early lead, then the Lady Mules eking out a 7-5 lead with less than two minutes left in the first quarter.

At that point, Lady Tigers junior Sa’Mya Torres committed a foul followed by a technical foul, giving her four personal fouls before the end of the first.

Poplar Bluff hit on two of the four free throws awarded in the incident, giving the Lady Mules a 9-5 lead with 1:45 remaining in the quarter. Poplar Bluff finished with a 5-2 run to lead 14-7 going into the second quarter.

The Lady Mules opened the second with an 8-1 run to put themselves ahead 22-8 with 3:26 to go in the first half. They added five more points to take at 27-12 lead into the halftime break.

Poplar Bluff opened the third quarter in the same way it did the second, with a 9-2 run in the first four minutes to extend its lead to 36-15.

However, Cape Central fought back over the last half of the third, outscoring the Lady Mules 11-9. Nevertheless, Poplar Bluff still held a comfortable 45-26 lead going into the final period.

The Lady Mules were even with the Lady Tigers through the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, but their 15-point halftime meant that keeping pace with the visitors was all they needed to do to secure the victory.

With Poplar Bluff leading 52-33 with two minutes left in the game, the Lady Mules controlled the ball on both ends to finish with a 6-2 run and a satisfying home win over the Lady Tigers.

Next up for the Lady Mules is a road game at Malden (13-7) this Thursday.