By Ken Gustafson

DAWSON – The Southland Academy Lady Raiders (12-3) used a 5-0 run to start the second quarter and a 15-2 run to start the second half to propel them to a 48-14 drubbing over Terrell Academy. Southland’s intensity on the defensive end also contributed to the win.

Four players: Karleigh Werling, Cassi Bass, Sydney Payne and Kathleen Kinslow each led Southland with 8 points. Werling, Bass and Kinslow each had 2 three-pointers on the night.

“The main thing that we want to do is to play great defense”, Southland Head Coach Ty Kinslow said. “I thought we had them (Terrell Academy) a little outmatched, but we challenged our girls and they played great on the defensive end. When you play great defense, rebound and don’t turn the ball over, you have a great shot of winning. I thought we played really good in those three phases.”

Neither team could do much scoring throughout much of the first quarter, but by the quarter’s end, the Lady Raiders had an 11-7 lead. To start the second quarter, Southland went on a 5-0 run until Terrell Academy’s Jennifer Todd hit a three-pointer to cut the Lady Raiders’ lead to 16-10. However, the Lady Raiders went on an 8-2 run to close out the second half.  With 4.3 seconds to go in the half, Kinslow drove to the basket and was fouled. Kinslow calmly sank both free throws and the Lady Raiders went into halftime up 24-12.

The Lady Eagles continued to struggle scoring as they weren’t able to solve Southland’s defense in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Southland scored the first five points of the second half to increase their lead to 29-12, but both teams went through a long scoring drought through much of the quarter. The Lady Eagles were only able to score two points in the third quarter, thanks to two free throws by Sarah Lane Lynch.

The Lady Raiders continued to dominate in the fourth quarter and increased their lead to 23 points on a three-pointer by Karleigh Werling. A few minutes later, Werling hit another three-pointer, increasing Southland’s lead to 42-14. “We shot the ball well tonight”, Coach sKinslow said. “If we shoot the ball well, rebound, play good defense and don’t turn the ball over, we have a pretty good team.”

Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Raiders, Macy Williams and Calyn Fort each had five points while Haleigh Warren, Reese Roland and Savanna Banks each had a basket. The Lady Raiders have now won four in a row and will open GISA AAA Region 3 play as they travel to Tiftarea Academy on Friday.