Lady Tigers beat OHS 61-36, Straughn boys pound glass

Straughn girls coach Scott Kinsaul just wanted a fast start on Thursday night.

Kinsaul got it and a little more as the Lady Tigers topped Opp 61-36 in area action at OHS.

“We knew we had to come out and play against a good team tonight,” he said. “They did and came out ready to play.

“We made some easy buckets early and that kind of relaxed us,” he said. “I was pleased with the way we got off to a good start.”

The Lady Tigers (12-1, 2-0 in Class 3A, Area 2) took a 6-3 lead early in the first period on an easy pass and bucket from Katelyn Kinsaul to Brittany Driver.

Straughn later increased its lead to 8-5 on a fast break pass from Jacie Williamson to Driver.

Driver, who led SHS with 26 points, got two put backs later in the period to give her team a 14-6 advantage at the end of the first period.

Opp had plenty of shot opportunities, but couldn’t make buckets, succumbing to Straughn’s defensive pressure.

On that pressure was Lady Tigers guard Katelyn Kinsaul, who used her athleticism to get key steals and fast breaks.

“Straughn played a great game,” OHS girls coach SaRhonda Dickerson said. “They just capitalized on all of our mistakes that we did.”

The Lady Tigers went on to outscore OHS 18-9 in the second period to lead 32-15 at halftime.

Despite trailing 41-18 with 4:27 left in the third period, the Lady Bobcats (7-1, 0-1) showed some renewed life, going on an 8-0 run to cut the game to 41-26 with more than two minutes remaining.

“They started doing what has made them successful this season,” Kinsaul said about Opp in the third period. “It wasn’t anything that we did wrong. It was just what they did right.”

Straughn led 46-28 after two free throws from Driver, and took a 56-34 lead to bring the game out of reach.

Kinsaul said not only did Driver have a good night, all of his girls played well.

“We’re not a one-person team,” he said. “The other girls, I thought stepped up. Jacie and Paige (Taylor) finished well on the fast break, and Katelyn handled their pressure real well. Audrey (Driver) played solid offense.”

Additionally, Straughn didn’t lose anything on substitutes, Kinsaul said.

“I was real pleased with everybody tonight,” he said

Williamson added 16 points for SHS. Kinsaul chipped in five points.

Opp’s Saquaya Lane led the Lady Bobcats with 10 points. Nisha Stoudemire had nine points.

Straughn boys 57, Opp boys 38

Straughn’s Hobie Hughes scored 18 points and added eight rebounds to help lead the Tigers to a 57-38 area victory over Opp.

Hughes wasn’t the only Tiger who had a good night on the glass.

JD Driver had seven rebounds in addition to his nine points; Devin Scott had six rebounds; and Nick Stepp had five rebounds.

Brice Scott led in steals with three, and added five assists and eight points on the night.

SHS (8-0, 2-0) led 22-2 after the first period, and 32-14 at halftime.

Opp stepped its game up a little bit in the third period, despite being outscored 16-12.

The Bobcats wouldn’t back down in the fourth, draining a 3-pointer and a couple of put backs to keep the game within reach.

“We were lucky tonight,” SHS coach Rusty Andrews said. “Hobie came out and played well and they didn’t have an answer for him early.”

Opp’s Manderious Mount led the Bobcats with 13 points.

Opp coach Sterling Driver said the team will continue to work to get better.

“My guys played hard,” Driver said. “They fought through it. In the first half, we just had a dry spell shooting-wise. We couldn’t get any rebounds defenseively, and they kept getting every offensive rebound.”

Straughn hosts Andalusia tonight in regular season action. Opp plays next on Thursday at Red Level’s annual Christmas tournament.