The Apollo E-gals hit the court for the second day in a row after they had to quarantine but AHS didn’t miss a beat during their time off as they cruised to their fourth victory of the year.
Hot-shooting and four E-gals in double figures gave Apollo the 65-42 win over Hancock County as Kassidy Daugherty’s 24 points led AHS in scoring for the second-straight game.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Apollo coach Natalie Payne said of her team’s play this week. “We were just talking in there after the game with the kids, we’ve got a little something special, positive energy vibe going on with our young kids having to step up and fulfill roles that they may have not really been expected to do or ready to do. They’re stepping up …
“It’s bringing us together and I feel like we’re playing more like a team than we ever have all year long.”
Apollo led 12-8 after the first frame and despite a run by the Lady Hornets at the beginning of the second, the E-gals were able to get a lead and never give it up as they buried seven 3-pointers in the first half with four coming from Addison Carter and three from Daugherty.
The second half was much of the same from the E-gals as they continued to hit shots.
Carter finished with 15 points on five 3-pointers while Amaya Curry (14 points) and Zoe Floyd (10 points) also finished in double figures.
With injuries and players being out, Payne has had to have younger players on the court, including freshman Jenna Dant as she started Saturday against the Hornets.
“She hadn’t stepped foot in a varsity game until Hopkinsville,” Payne said. “That was her first time stepping foot in a varsity game and now she’s starting.”
Payne said it’s important for the younger players to get minutes now so they’re in sync with the gameplan come playoff time.
“They’re getting a lot more reps in practice with the top group and they’re understanding more of what we need defensively how to execute certain things and they would not have had that opportunity if we had Amber (Dunn), Brylee Rhodes and Shelby Beatty, those are three kids that are within that top six rotation. It’s a huge opportunity and it’s propelling us forward. It’s really going to help us in the long run come tournament time.”
The E-gals have one day off before they host Greenwood Monday at AHS, their third game in four days.
While some would be concerned about fresh legs after being off as long as they were, Payne said her team needs to get back in game condition.
“I think we need to get back up to speed and they’re going to have to push through,” she said. “We’re playing a lot of games and they’re back-to-back with maybe one day in between. We need this for our conditioning. Our games are almost like our practices because nothing matters until tournament time. We’re just trying to gear up and stay in condition and stay healthy. If you get a win along the way it’s great but we’re just trying to prepare for tournament time.”
Apollo 65, Hancock County 42
HC 8 14 12 8–42
AHS 12 22 16 15–65
HC: Alex Kratzer 2, Karmin Riley 3, Lily Roberts 6, Bailey Poole 16, Emma Morris 3, Haven Riley 4, Ella House 6, Megan LaClair 2
AHS: Amaya Curry 14, Zoe Floyd 10, Addison Carter 15, Kassidy Daugherty 24, Jennifer Lee 2
2021 basketball coverage is presented in part by Rhoads & Rhoads Attorneys at Law.
