LAFOLLETTE — Monday night the Lady Indians gathered their gear and headed to Campbell County. Although it was a close call, the Lady Indians managed a 45-42 victory. This win allowed Oneida to accomplish a 3-3 record for the season thus far, with many more games on the horizon.
Both teams struggled to score in the first quarter. Neither could get a shot to finish in the net. They only had eight points at the end of the first quarter. As the game went on, things picked it up a little bit and the girls gained ground in the third.
After the half, you could tell the Lady Indians were losing steam. They struggled defensively, which allowed the Cougars to split right between them for drives in the lane in order to attain easy shots.
A key factor may be attributed to health concerns for the Lady Indians. Coach Marv West spoke to this after the game. He stated that some of the Lady Indians entered the game feeling under the weather and had to get shots despite optimal conditions. It makes one wonder how the game would've looked with a full and healthy bench. One of the Indians top players, Kelsey Pike, even had to make a trip to the hospital after the game to get fluids due to being dehydrated.
In spite of setbacks, Raylie Bush made her presence known Monday night. She scored an overall tally of 12 points, being the top Oneida scorer of the night. Bush also delivered intense defensive maneuvers in the forms of blocked shots and knocked away passes.
Oneida trailed by as much as five points in the fourth quarter, but five straight points by the ailing Pike tied the game. Later, Bush scored the go-ahead bucket with just under a minute remaining on a put-back, then added a pair of free throws. The Lady Indians closed the game on a 9-1 run.
The Lady Indians will be traveling to Cosby on Friday night to play the Eagles with the aspirations of gaining another win and improving their record to 4-3.
ONEIDA (45): Keeton 6, Russ 11, Smith 2, Bush 12, Elmore1, Terry 2, Cross 1, Pike 10.
CAMPBELL CO. (42): Lester 4, Whited 9, Kitts 5, Pemberton 4, Browning 19, Gillum 1.
