Kell Defeats Lithia Springs 69-23, "We Picked It Up On Defense"
On Tuesday, the Kell Longhorns girls basketball team opened up the Georgia high School Association 5A state championship tournament with a statement win as they defeated the Lithia Springs Lions 69-23. The game was one in which the Longhorns took care of business on both ends of the court, but not without the Lions playing tough early on in the first quarter. In fact, Lithia Springs would lead briefly in the opening period of play, however layup in transition by Lions’ guard Amiya Richmond would tie the game 9-9, Kell would go on a tear from there.
As the game continued, the Longhorns would outscore the Lions 26-3 throughout the remainder of the first half as they led 35-12 by halftime. Kell would use a combination of good ball movement on offense and transition baskets off of Lithia Springs’ turnovers to take control of the game in the second quarter, control they would have throughout the remainder of the game. And while the final outcome was more than impressive in the win for the Longhorns, Kell head coach said following the game, that the Longhorns will have to execute in all four quarters of games down the stretch in order to make a deep run in the tournament.
“We started out slow, but second quarter we picked up on defense,” Bailey said of her players defensive turnaround, something she said was a result of their conversation at the end of the first quarter. With the win, Kell advances to the second round of the 5A tournament and will await the winner of Flowery Branch and Hiram, and for Bailey, if the Longhorns want to move past either opponent or even further, Kell with have to play with “consistency for four quarters,” Bailey added.
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