MOUNTAIN PINE -- Behind a fast start and a stellar defensive performance, the Poyen Lady Indians never trailed in Friday's matchup with Mountain Pine at Red Devil Fieldhouse.
The Lady Indians (14-2, 4-1) opened the game on a 20-3 run, and forced 17 steals in a 66-36 rout.
"I thought we did a really good job of keeping them in front of us, rotating up and double-teaming when the opportunity was there," Poyen coach Mickey Shaffer said. "We're a little quicker than them, and I thought we did a good job of taking advantage of that."
Trailing by as much as 17 points in the second quarter, the Lady Red Devils (3-9, 1-3) cut the lead to 27-14 early in the second half before Poyen took control for good. Senior Angel Goodman and junior Bree McDermott combined for 12 points in the third quarter, sparking a 15-0 run that gave the Lady Indians a commanding 51-23 lead entering the fourth quarter.
"In that third quarter, our press was a little more effective of coming up with the ball and converting it into easy points the other way," said Shaffer. "We also got to the free throw line several times, and were able to kind of pull away a little bit."
After Lorren Austin's layup gave Poyen a 53-23 lead to enact the mercy rule and running clock early in the fourth quarter, Mountain Pine's Summer Godwin gave her best effort to keep the score respectable.
The senior led all scorers with nine points in the final frame, but Austin, Erica Cornett and Karis Sullivant each connected on a 3-pointer as the Lady Indians kept the Lady Red Devils at bay.
"That's what we are supposed to do," Shaffer said. "I've got a bunch of kids that can shoot the ball good consistently. We're shooting about 35 percent (from 3-point range) as a team for the year. We were two for 14 in the first half, but I told them we were going to shoot the same shots in the second half.
"If this was district, regional or state finals, we would shoot those same shots. If we missed them, we'd go home with our head held high, knowing that we did what we do. Some nights they're not going to go, but we're not going to stop shooting them."
Poyen held the Lady Red Devils without a field goal in the first quarter, sophomore Kyla Puckett and senior Mikayla Kai Montiho combining for seven points as the Lady Indians built an early 15-2 lead.
A 3-pointer from Lacy Beaver gave Poyen a 20-3 lead early in the second quarter before Mountain Pine started to show signs of life offensively.
Freshman Kalariya McDaniel and senior Tanay Tash each knocked down a shot from behind the arc, combining for eight points while Godwin added three points as the Lady Red Devils trimmed the gap to 27-13 at the half.
Godwin's shot from the foul line to open the third quarter pulled Mountain Pine within 27-14, but the Lady Red Devils got no closer.
Poyen had eight players record at least five points, Kai Montihio, McDermott and Pucket leading the way with nine points each.
"We play nine every night, which is maybe one or two more than I normally play most years," said Shaffer. "I got nine I feel confident in, and tonight we were able to even go deeper than that. We've worked hard the last couple of days on getting them more involved on what they're doing, and I thought they did a good job all the way to the very end."
Godwin finished with a game-high 13 points, while McDaniel scored nine points, Tash had six points and senior Ali Meeks added five points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter.
The Lady Red Devils host Ouachita Tuesday night. Poyen will take an eight-game winning streak into Tuesday's matchup with visiting Maumelle Charter.
Sports on 01/07/2018