BLACKSVILLE — The Clay-Battelle girls’ basketball squad scored the first two points of its season opener Dec. 4 Then it scored the next 15.
The Cee-Bees opened the first quarter on a 17-0 run on the way to a 57-10 victory over Hundred, at Statler Wilson Gymnasium.
Cee-Bees head coach David Joyce said he and his team were satisfied with the performance.
“We thought we might need to work hard on the basics, and if we could do that we would be OK,” Joyce said. “The girls are learning more about the game every time they take the floor.”
The C-B offense was led by a dominant shooting performance, with the team running seamlessly through offensive sets and opening up high-opportunity shots.
“When you can run sets and get open looks it makes the basket look bigger,” Joyce said. “We were able to capitalize on that tonight.”
After the explosive opening quarter, C-B kept a solid foot on the gas through halftime, opening up to a 34-10 lead.
The Cee-Bees’ offense slowed down in the second half, but they could have stalled completely and it would not have made a difference.
Hundred was stifled by a stout defensive effort and failed to score in the second half.
“While our 2-3 defense allows some advantage on the outside for opposing teams, it gives us some rebounding ability and limits teams to one shot,” Joyce said.
Despite the slower performance in the second half, C-B added 23 points in the final two quarters, including a trifecta of deep-range buckets in the fourth to put Hundred away.
Even with returning four starters, the Cee-Bees feature a young, undersized squad. Monday’s performance gave a glimpse of the level Joyce and the fans can expect out of the team this winter.
“We know we have a lot to work on, with our younger players especially,” Joyce said.
“We are going to have to learn on the fly since we are heavily loaded on games the first few weeks. The older players do a great job helping teach the younger ones.”
Even with the solid performance, Joyce sees room for improvement with his squad, specifically with their fast-break offense.
“We are going to have to get back to running and pushing the ball off turnovers and rebounds for the next several games,” he said.
The Cee-Bees were paced by Haley Barr, with 16 points. Senior Abbey Ammons added 15 points, while Rylee Burnette added nine.
Autumn Stewart and Joleigh Sollars each accounted for six points, while Alicia Keener scored five points.
The Cee-Bees (1-0) play again Dec. 6 in the Grafton tournament. Their opponents and tip-off time have not been determined.
