Matt Fraliex has won lots of times in the CAB gym at Caldwell County.
But Friday’s victory was a first for him.
His Todd County Central Lady Rebels used a strong second half to get past the host Lady Tigers 58-47, giving Fraliex his first win as a high school basketball head coach.
Fraliex put up big offensive numbers as a player at Caldwell County, and is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,941 points.
But he was on the visitors’ bench Friday night as his Todd Central team opened the second half with a 10-2 run to grab the upper hand after the Lady Rebels and Lady Tigers went to halftime deadlocked 27-27.
Todd (1-1) outscored Caldwell 13-5 in the third period to take a 40-32 advantage to the final frame.
A 3-pointer by Ja’Mya Kay to start the fourth quarter then extended the lead to double figures for the first time at 43-32.
The Lady Rebels took their biggest lead at 49-37 following a short jumper by Jamaia Coleman with 4:33 remaining in the contest.
Caldwell (0-2) got back to within six points when a bucket inside from Parris Gray made it a 52-46 ballgame with 1:47 to play. But that’s as close as the Lady Tigers could get.
Abby Williams tallied 17 points to lead Todd Central while Kay added 13 and Alexis Taylor finished with 10 points. Coleman and Lucy Chester each scored eight points.
Katy Smiley was the top scorer for Caldwell with 17 points while Gray finished with 11. Morgan Aikins added seven points.
The Lady Tigers trailed 16-7 in the first quarter but battled back to take the lead in the second period.
A 9-2 run to start the second half put Caldwell in front for the first time at 22-20.
Caldwell’s biggest lead was 27-24 before the Lady Rebels came back to tie things at halftime.
The Lady Tigers are right back in action Saturday when they play at Union County at 4:30 as part of the 6th District/7th District Shootout.
Todd’s girls will visit Jo Byrns in Cedar Hill, Tenn., on Monday.
Todd County Central 18 9 13 18—58
Caldwell County 13 14 5 15—47
Todd County Central (1-1) — Abby Williams 17, Ja’Mya Kay 13, Alexis Taylor 10, Lucy Chester 8, Jamaia Coleman 8, Tamiya Foster 2.
Caldwell County (0-2) — Katy Smiley 17, Parris Gray 11 Morgan Aikins 7, A.J. Hollowell 5, Med Thomas 3, Presley McKinney 2, Brylee Butts 2.
