After a campaign that yielded only three wins a season ago, the Todd County Central girls’ basketball team got off to a strong start in the new year with a 51-38 victory over hosts Christian Fellowship on Monday night.
The Lady Rebels trailed early before Jamaia Coleman hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 9-9 with less than a minute to play in the first quarter. However, Gracie Howard beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer from midcourt to cap her 10-point quarter and give Christian Fellowship a 12-9 advantage.
Coleman opened the second quarter with a steal and score, followed by a corner jumper from Lucy Chester, to give the Lady Rebels a lead they would never relinquish. Coleman connected on a pair of 3-pointers, with a long ball from Abbey Williams in between, to stretch the Todd Central lead to 6 with just over a minute left in the half. Alexis Taylor scored on a putback in the final seconds and the Lady Rebels led 27-19 at the break.
Chester drained a 3 to push the margin out to 10 early in the third quarter, but Christian Fellowship closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to trim the advantage to 3 at 35-32 heading to the fourth.
Todd County steadily rebuilt the lead and once again led by double digits after a Ciara Collins layup. Christian Fellowship pulled to within 9 at 45-36 with 2:34 to play, but the Lady Rebels iced the game at the free-throw line for a 13-point victory.
Todd County Central 9 18 8 16 — 51
Christian Fellowship 12 7 13 6 — 38
Todd County Central (1-0) — Taylor 14, Chester 12, Coleman 11, Williams 8, Collins 4, Leavell 2
Christian Fellowship (0-1) — G. Howard 17, Burnett 15, Warren 4, Jackson 2
