By Staff
Nick Johnston, Hartselle Enquirer
The Hartselle Tigers and Lady Tigers picked up wins against Danville last Friday night, improving the teams' records to 1-1 each. The Lady Tigers played Decatur Monday night but no stats were available as of press time.
Hartselle 64, Danville 35
Girls
Sure it was good to get the win, according head coach Greg Adams, but it may not have been a huge boost to his team.
"I don't know how much Friday night made us better," Adams said. "We are still fouling way to much. That's one of the things we've got to get better."
Hartselle committed 23 fouls on the night, but forced 36 turnovers in the 29-point win.
Lauren Drake led the team with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven steals, while Britney Jackson and Jessica Lindsey scored 10 a piece.
Lindsey fouled out in the game, her second foul out in as many games.
"I don't know why that's happening," Adams said. "That's not typical for her."
So far this season, Hartselle has committed 44 fouls in just two games. That's a statistic not sitting well with the head coach.
"I have to tell them sometimes you just need to take a chance on them missing the shot," he said. "They're going to score. That's what basketball is made for, so goodness, we can't contest every shot."
On the other hand, when Hartselle is getting to the free throw line itself, struggles continue. This season, the Lady Tigers are shooting just 54 percent from the line.
"That is unacceptable," Adams said. "We should be around 65 to 70 percent, so we need a lot of work on our free throws."
Drake has been the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.5 points per game and 11 rebounds. The freshman drew a lot of praise from Adams.
"I've been pleased with her," he said of his freshman. "Twenty points is not going to be an unusual thing this season. She's a special player."
Shan Jones is second on the team, averaging 12 points per contest.
Hartselle 60, Danville 46
Danville led for most of the first half before two second quarter three pointers from Samuel Massey gave Hartselle a two-point lead at halftime.
Massey scored 17 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the arc.
"He's shooting the ball real well," head coach Johnny Berry said. "He's really stroking it right now."
Both Eric Norwood and Keith Rodgers added 13 in the win.
At one time, Hartselle trailed 22-10 in the second quarter before a time out.
"After the time out we really brought our intensity level up," Berry said. "They were really going after us, and it seemed like we were just standing around at first."
Like the girls team, fouls have been a problem for the Tigers. Rodgers, according to Berry, is an aggressive player, and should be averaging more than 4.5 rebounds per contest right now. But fouls have kept the junior on the bench.
"You have to look at his playing time," Berry said. "He's had four fouls with six minutes to go in both games. He's averaging just 18 minutes a game, and still averaging 14 points per game. We have to keep him out of foul trouble.