Watson Chapel's Lady Wildcats played championship-caliber defense while Timesha Cole supplied the offense.
Cole scored 24 points and Watson Chapel held Hot Springs to 36 percent floor shooting Tuesday night at Trojan Fieldhouse in a 58-44 victory between 5A-South top two girls teams.
Watson Chapel is 19-3 overall and 9-0 in the conference, Hot Springs with the same season record but 7-3 in the league after its second defeat to the Lady Wildcats in three games this season.
"We rely on our defense," Watson Chapel coach Leslie Henderson said. "(Cayla) Trotter is our best defender and is always assigned to whoever is their best player. Of course we had to swap her because they have two great guards, but I'm very proud of our defense. We talk about that all the time, that defense wins games."
Watson Chapel held Hot Springs to 7 of 26 (26.9 percent) from the floor while building a 33-17 halftime lead, Cole scoring 15.
"She has started that the last two weeks," said Henderson of Cole's offensive stardom. "We can run her on point and have her on her left side. And then we moved Trotter to the point and it's made all the difference."
Trotter got into foul trouble in the third quarter, and the Lady Wildcats went flat on offense. But their defense kept Hot Springs nine points, and it 39-26 starting the fourth period. Watson Chapel made seven of its last nine from the floor.
"They did everything I expected them to do," Hot Springs coach Josh Smith said. "The only difference in tonight and the other previous two matchups was they made shots. We had to let them make those because of their size. Our game plan was to contest them, and they knocked down shots. You have to give them credit."
Watson Chapel finished 20 of 40 from the field while Hot Springs was just 16 of 44.
Smith had to deal with some foul trouble, Keke Hunter picking up a pair of quick fouls in the first quarter. When she came back in the second half, she finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
"That's Keke for you," Smith said. "You know you can get that out of her if you can keep her on the floor. It's scary to put her on the bench with two fouls that early in the game because you know what she can do and how big of an impact she has. When she comes to the bench, it's tough."
Imani Honey led the Lady Trojans with 19 points, Ariana Guinn adding 10.
Peyton Martin finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for Watson Chapel, Shanna Shavers adding eight points, seven rebounds and six blocks.
Hot Springs travels to Camden Fairview on Friday.
Watson Chapel 17 16 6 19 -- 58
Hot Springs 10 7 9 18 -- 44
Watson Chapel: Cole 24, Martin 13, Shavers 8, Trotter 6, Bell 3, Williams 2, Scott 2.
Hot Springs: Honey 19, Hunter 12, Guinn 10, Peppers 3.
Sports on 02/10/2016