The Todd County Central girls’ basketball team bounced back from a slow first quarter on Wednesday to make it two wins in a row with a 56-48 victory over visiting Jo Byrns. The Lady Rebels improved to 4-2 ahead of a trip to Hopkins County Central on Friday.
Todd Central trailed 6-0 before recently-minted 1,000-point scorer Alexis Taylor got going with six straight points to tie the game. The Lady Rebels took their first lead at 9-8 after an Abby Williams’ layup, but Paige Conquest drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to cap a 10-1 Jo Byrns’ run.
Trailing 23-14 with 4:50 left in the half, Taylor scored in the paint and followed with a three-point play before Daymea Garrett connected from beyond the arc to pull the Lady Rebels to within a point. Williams tied it for Todd Central with a pull-up jumper, and Garrett knocked down a pair of free throws with :17 left for a 26-24 halftime advantage.
After scoring 13 points in the first half, Taylor found herself in foul trouble and headed to the bench after picking up her fourth with 4:15 left in the third. However, the Red Devils couldn’t capitalize, with JaMya Kay scoring five points to help the Lady Rebels lead 39-35 with a quarter to play.
Taylor returned and capped a 20-point night with seven points in the fourth, including five of six from the free-throw line. Madison Luoma scored six points for the Red Devils and they got as close as four points at 50-46 with just over three minutes to play. Todd Central did just enough at the charity stripe down the stretch, going 8/14 in the fourth and 20 for 32 for the game.
Williams added six in the final frame to finish with 16 for the Lady Rebels, and Kay also reached double figures with 11.
Luoma led Jo Byrns with 14, and Conquest finished with 11.
Jo Byrns 18 6 11 13 — 48
Todd Central 10 16 13 17 — 56
Jo Byrns (1-7) — Luoma 14, Conquest 11, Arms 7, Reed 6, M. Putnam 5, A. Putnam 3, Hallmark 2
Todd Central (4-2) — Taylor 20, Williams 16, Kay 11, Garrett 5, Shemwell 3, Collins 1
