By Erik Harris
TRUSSVILLE – After a strong performance Saturday, Hewitt-Trussville brought a sluggish performance on Day 2 of the New Year’s Shootout at Bryant Bank Arena on Monday.
The Lady Huskies were one step behind Fort Payne for much of the day that ended in a 58-36 loss.
Points were hard to come by for Hewitt-Trussville as the Lady Wildcats packed into a zone defense early and held the hosts to only one first quarter field goal.
“You’re playing scared on your own floor,” Hewitt-Trussville head coach Tonya Hunter said to her team following the first quarter.
Hewitt-Trussville eighth grade guard Morgan Kirk
file photo by Ron Burkett
Things got a little better over the next eight minutes, but Fort Payne still held a 12-point advantage at the break.
A strong performance from the free-throw line helped build the Lady Wildcats’ lead. They were good on 16-of-28 freebees. Lexi Stover went 9-for-13 on her own.
The home team only managed 15 free-throw opportunities, making six of them.
“We’re still a young team,” Hunter said. “We only have two seniors and that’s something we have to work on.”
Morgan Kirk gave the Lady Huskies a much-needed spark in the third when she dropped her team’s first 3-pointer of the game, but the shot did little damage to a 41-22 deficit.
Kirk, a Hewitt-Trussville eighth-grader, finished with a team-high 12 points. Rebecca Stanley added 11 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Point guard Cayla Dillard had an uncharacteristically slow outing with just three points.
