The Lady Lions locked down Anna-Jonesboro on Thursday, December 8, to win their second straight home game in a 49-19 blowout. 

Early in the first quarter, Junior guard Amayah Doyle gave Carterville an early 6-2 lead with an and-1. The Lions outscored the Wildcats by eight for the rest of the first quarter bringing the ending score to 16-4.

Senior guard Olivia Russell lit up the Wildcat’s defense and drained two three-pointers in the second quarter. The Lions ended the first half scoring another sixteen points, bringing the half-time score 32-9. 

The Lions did not lose any momentum coming out of the half and they went on a fourteen-point scoring run. The Carterville defense continued to show out, only giving up three points in the third quarter.

The Lions showed dominance throughout the whole game on both sides of the ball, putting up 49 points and only giving up 19, while defending their home court. 

The Lion’s streak did not continue however, as they fell to Breese Central 52-31 on Saturday.

Breese Central got up early on the Lions, taking a 12-2 lead before the end of the first quarter, and they maintained this lead throughout the game which led to the unfortunate loss on Saturday.

The Cougars did not back down, and by the end of the first half they managed to extend their lead to 33-17.

The Lions struggled to connect on many of their shots early on, going 22.2% from the field in the first quarter and improving to 40% in the second quarter.

The second half showed more of the same performance from both teams leading to Breese’s eventual 52-31 lead.

Junior Amayah Doyle recognizes that the team has some work to do, she said, “It’s all about bouncing back. We are going to make some adjustments in practice [alongside] working harder, and trying to practice how we play.”

The Lions will get their opportunity to bounce back against the Nashville Hornets on the 13th at Nashville.

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