ELSINORE -- Tenacious defense did the job for East Carter Thursday night.
Kennedy Thies tallied seven of her team's 22 steals with suffocating defense on the ball as the Lady Redbirds defeated Puxico 51-42 with the help of a strong surge in the third quarter.
The game was knotted at 21 apiece in the second quarter after both teams traded baskets in the first and part of the second. A 22-5 run, though, carried into the third quarter and gave the Lady Redbirds a firm grasp of the game.
"Our defense wasn't as strong (early), and I think after that, we really locked down on our defense. (Senior Sophia Hancock) was a really great player for them and we locked down hard on her," East Carter coach Angela Rodgers said. "... I think our defense definitely swung the momentum."
The beginning of the run is when the hosts began to assert themselves on the defensive end. Junior Audrey Carter stole the ball after applying pressure in the backcourt, and she passed to freshman Jordan Moore, who absorbed contact and banked in a basket for a 3-point play opportunity.
"Coach Rodgers has really brought a lot of confidence towards us this year," Carter said. "Compared to last year, she's really boosted us up. I think that's really helped because she's just been saying, 'You guys can do it, you just have to believe,' so that's really just helped us along the way."
Moore missed the free throw but must've wanted 4 points on the sequence because she immediately stole a pass and scored on an open layup after her miss.
A free throw apiece from Kaly Hayhes and Carley Siler helped the Lady Indians slim the gap down to two, but junior Makenna Moore drained a wide open 3-pointer on the wing, and Jordan Moore followed up by splitting another pair at the line to put East Carter (2-0) up six at the half.
Makenna Moore scored seven of her team-leading 12 points in the second quarter.
The defensive pressure paid dividends again when the second half began. Carter stole the ball at halfcourt and raced down the floor for an easy layup to start the third. Junior Naomi Crowley used her length to pull down a rebound for a putback through contact to get the old-fashioned 3-point play and put East Carter up double figures at 33-23.
"We have a tendency to kind of fold anytime we see some type of pressure," Puxico coach Jordan Hill said. "We've got a lot of probably junior varsity ballhandlers right now and not a lot of varsity ballhandlers. So really, we just lack experience.
"That's kind of what we're going for this year is building some experience with these girls so they can maintain and actually just build confidence."
The Redbirds scored the first 9 points of the third quarter, and Thies capped that burst with a coast-to-coast drive and layup down the lane as Rodgers was imploring her to do so by saying, "Drive! Drive! Drive!" from the bench as Thies raced up the floor.
Puxico (2-3) teased a comeback behind a strong effort from Hancock and Siler. Hancock tallied a game-high 23 points
With the Lady Indians trailing 43-26 late in the third, Hancock started drawing fouls repeatedly by putting pressure on the defense inside.
She got an easy pair from the charity stripe after her defender bit on a shot fake from mid-range, and she helped get Puxico into the double bonus with just under seven minutes remaining in the game. Siler nailed a 3 on the wing after a steal from a 1-2-2 zone that began to give the Lady Redbirds trouble in the fourth quarter.
"We do tend to get into a hurry most of the time," Carter said. "So, coach Rodgers really just has to yell at us and tell us to settle down so we can make good passes. That really helps when she says that because we usually just forget and we can just throw it away."
East Carter's lead sank below double figures after three free throws from Hancock and a pair from Gracey Wilkerson. The Lady Redbirds regained their composure, though. Makenna Moore and Carter swiped steals in succession and made a pair of transition layups to put the game out of reach and secure the win.
"That's what we've really been working on is not necessarily getting turnovers or trapping every time, but slowing the ball down in our press, and we've really done that," Rodgers said. "They're pretty fast and we can get those extra steals, and it does make up for the fouls. We had way too many fouls tonight. It was a lot."