The Lady Patriots on a rare Saturday afternoon home game hosted the Weddington Warriors at “The Big I” and picked up another victory against only one defeat.
In the opening period the Patriots took charge after the teams were tied 5-5 during the first 4:25 seconds of the contest. However, the home team after a time out went on a 15-0 run led by Kamryn Kitchen who scored 10 points including drilling two consecutive 3-pointers in the period. After the first 8:00 minutes of competition Independence held a 20-5 edge.
In the second period prior to the intermission the Warriors made a valiant run to keep themselves within potential striking distance with a 17 point outburst led by SG Natalie Poole who scored 14 points with the hot hand. She ended the period at the buzzer with a 3-pointer to keep the Warriors hopes alive and with a potential momentum swing. While the Patriots Hannah Moss and Chloe Moss combined for 11 points of their own to keep pace.
After the intermission, it was Jessica Worthey of the Patriots who took control of this contest in the third period. She exploded off the bench scoring 10 points with two 3-pointers to maintain Indy’s advantage 55-30 after three periods in “The Pit.” The effort made by the junior who found the range carried Indy at this critical point in the game.
In the final period, as Coach Lauren Galvani kept rotating her players to keep everyone fresh and give more game experience to her entire team the Patriots continued to wear down their opponent while they ran away with a 66-39 convincing victory. The overall Independence pressure and full court press at times seemed to much for the Warriors to overcome throughout the basketball game. The Lady Patriots just had more offensive firepower and bench strength for the Warriors to mount any serious comeback.
The top scorers for the Patriots was Kitchen 17, Worthey 17, Chloe Moss 12, and Hannah Moss 12. While sophomore Natalie Poole led all scorers with 20 points, Emerson Townsend 7, Bailey Page 5 made a contribution for the visitors.
The Lady Patriots are now 6-1 on the season as they prepare to square off with new conference rival Charlotte Christian on Tuesday night on the road. While the Warriors are now 3-4 on the season.
