Kim Cram-Torres, the head girls basketball coach at Cumberland County High School, told her team and anyone that would listen Friday’s game with Pickett County wasn’t going to be anything like when the two teams met last month.
In Byrdstown on Nov. 14, the Lady Jets had little trouble with the Lady Bobcats. They scored pretty much at will, rolling to any easy 65-31 victory. Friday night in Crossville, Cumberland County had to fight for every point before pulling out the 55-52 win.
“The Pickett County team we played earlier this year at Pickett County, that’s not who they are,” said Cram-Torres after the game. “I knew that, and I knew what we saw tonight was who we were going to face tonight. They’re tough, they work really hard, and they’re fighters.
“But we told our kids this was going to be a hard game and they needed to be ready. Pickett County came out and kind of took the first swing. We got down, we were tight, but we were able to overcome a lot of adversity tonight and get the win.”
The win was Cumberland County’s third straight and moved the Lady Jets to 4-1 on the year. Pickett County falls to 4-2.
Pickett County came out shooting to open the game. Callie Reeder and Zoey Nicholas helped spark the Lady Bobcats and Pickett County rushed to 13-4 advantage after the first period.
But Cumberland County turned the switch on its defense, and the Lady Jets pressed Pickett County full court, picking up some loose balls for baskets in transition. With Lauren Clark and Jalynn Baldwin leading the defensive effort, the Lady Jets slowly chipped away and tied the game at 28 heading into the intermission.
“Pickett County’s shooters were ready to play, they knew what they wanted to execute, and they did,” Cram-Torres said. “We didn’t do ourselves any favors. I thought we mishandled the ball. I didn’t think we were ready. Some of us were feeling pressure, and I think it took us a quarter to get over that.
“It was good for us at halftime. I think we were tied, so it was zero to zero. We were playing from the beginning. I was important for us to reset at halftime. We came out and made a huge run. We got it to double digits. Then, we kind of made them fight back a little bit.”
Cumberland County opened the second half with big buckets from Baldwin, Clark and Aliyah Hawkins to take a 33-28 lead with 4:43 to go in the period. Alexis Carroll hit a 3-pointer and Clark scored on a layup, and suddenly the Lady Jets led 38-28.
But Pickett County wouldn’t go away. Nicholas nailed a 3-pointer and Emmy Lowe scored in the paint. The Lady Bobcats cut it to five at 41-36 when Reeder hit a bucket from the corner in the waning moments of the period.
Cumberland County did get its lead to 12 points at 55-43 with 4:42 to go in the game. But Pickett County score nine straight points to close out the game and post the final 55-52 margin.
Baldwin led Cumberland County in scoring with 13 points. Carroll had 12 and Clark scored 11, including eight in the second half. Sydney Wilhite contributed 10 points in the win, while Hawkins scored seven.
Lowe led Pickett County with 17 points in the loss. Reeder scored 16 and Nicholas contributed 15.
“Defensively is what we hang our hat on, and we have some good defenders,” Cram-Torres said. “Lauren Clark had eight steals. A lot of people put emphasis on scoring, we put emphasis on defense, and Lauren led that charge tonight.”
Cumberland County will be back in action Dec. 8 when CCHS will host Walker Valley. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.