
Lakewood’s Areona McKoy watches to see if her shot attempt is good while Hobbton’s Aubree McLamb does the same.
Brandt Young|Sampson Independent
Lady Leopards defend home turf against Wildcats
Hobbton’s Lady Wildcats invaded Leopard country Monday night, looking to upset the highly-touted squad from Lakewood. The hosts took control almost immediately and never looked back, grabbing the decisive 63-22 victory in another episode of Carolina 1A conference play.
Jahmai Rich and Cassie Driver took the opening tip, in which Driver took it for the visiting Wildcats. The possession was short-lived, though, as Alexis Rhodes got a quick steal on a pass and took to the other end for the Leopards. Areona McKoy pickpocketed another pass and took it coast-to-coast for Lakewood’s first points, making it 2-0 after the Leopards’ first trip down the court resulted in a penalty.
Izzy Hepworth collected a board from a Lakewood shot and took it down the floor for Hobbton’s first score near the six-minute mark, but sticky fingers from A’miyah Smith led to a Rhodes bucket, extending the home lead out to 7-2. McKoy would add a pair of points shortly after, and the lead continues moving northward towards double digits. Driver hit an elbow jumper to bring it to a 9-4 advantage, but Rhodes returned the favor with a three ball before swiping a Wildcat pass and taking to down the floor to widen it out to a 10-point lead.
Hepworth fed Katie Britt a pass down the lane to get the Wildcats another bucket and cool off the scoring, and the score sat at 16-6 with 2:22 left in the opening quarter. Aubree McLamb added a triple shortly after to close things to 16-9.
That would be the score as the quarter ended.
Rhodes fed Smith a deep pass down the court to open scoring in the second for the Leopards, and she doubled up once more to make it a 22-9 lead for the Leopards before Hobbton signaled for the game’s first timeout just 56 seconds into the second quarter.
On a coast-to-coast play, McKoy went behind her back for the Euro-step layup, which drew a foul from Miley McLamb. McKoy sank the layup through contact, but was no good on the free throw, making it 24-9 with exactly six minutes to play in the half.
The lead continued to grow for Lakewood, as the pressuring defense was too much for the Wildcats to handle. Over halfway through the quarter, they held onto a 30-9 lead.
Reserve players started to trickle in for Lakewood in the second period, as the game was fully in the Leopards’ control. The lead climbed to 35-9 with well over a minute left to play, and Eleasia Owens added two more on a pair of free throws with 1:02 to play, making Lakewood’s lead nearly 30.
Britt added three for the Wildcats on an and-1 north of half a minute to play, and the score sat at 37-12 as the teams broke for halftime.
Rhodes got the first points of the second half on a pair of free throws for the Leopards. McKoy would add a triple moments later and the score moved to a 30-point lead in favor of Lakewood at 42-12. Hepworth would add a triple of her own as an answer for the Wildcats.
Graci Barefoot added two more points for the Wildcats near the halfway point in the third, making it 46-17. But, no matter how much Hobbton tried, Lakewood was there to answer multiple times over with their pressuring defense and efficient offense.
The Leopards were awarded a technical foul for too many players on the court with exactly three minutes to play in the period. Miley McLamb was no good on the foul shots, but she assisted Madison Sinclair on a wide-open three to make it 48-20 on their returning possession.
The scoring gap between the Carolina 1A foes continued growing in Lakewood’s favor, as the scoreboard showed a 52-20 lead for the Leopards with just 1:27 remaining in the third.
A Sinclair foul line jumper would add a pair for the visitors, and a pair of free throws from Rhodes would do the same for the hosts. The score sat at 54-22 as the buzzer sounded to end the third.
Smith opened the fourth with two baskets for the Leopards, pushing their lead to 58-22 less than a minute into the closing period.
Scoring slowed down for both squads as more reserves hit the floor for Lakewood and Hobbton continued their struggles at both ends of the court. The scoring lull would be broken by 21L on a layup near the 2:15 mark, but several minutes passed between baskets. Smith added another scoop and score, and the Lakewood lead jumped out to 63-22 and the running clock was enacted.
That would be the final score as the game came to a close.
Reach Brandt Young at (910) 247-9036, at byoung@clintonnc.com, or on the Sampson Independent Facebook page.