After a solid effort in their last game against Science Hill, Elizabethton coach Lucas Andrews had to be optimistic coming into Tuesday’s Three Rivers Conference showdown with Sullivan Central.

However, even with a strong start in the first quarter of play, the Lady Cyclones were making fundamental mistakes in taking care of the basketball that resulted in a 51-36 win for the visiting Lady Cougars who maintain their lead in the pack in conference play.

Looking good in the first quarter

The Lady Cyclones grabbed a quick 7-2 lead before the Lady Cougars got their footing and quickly put Elizabethton post Morgan Headrick on the bench with two quick fouls.

Elizabethton trailed only 12-9 by the end of the quarter as Kaylen Shell popped the cotton for 7 points in the first eight minutes and Kelsie Winters added a deuce.

Central, meanwhile, was feeding their big post Abbey Crawford who was taking advantage of her height to score seven points.

Holding tight in the second

Even though the offense struggled during the second period, the Lady Cyclones were still in contention to have a shot at the game when the half arrived as the Lady Cougars still controlled the game at 22-16.

Torrie Roberts connected on a trey while Shell and Cheyenne VanHuss added a field goal apiece in the quarter.

Lady Cougars stay balanced

Central came out of the locker room and spread the Lady Cyclones away from the paint and used their inside out game to perfection over the last 16 minutes of play as the Lady Cougars took the 51-36 victory.

Central outscored Elizabethton 13-9 and 16-11 over the last two quarters to secure the win.

A look at the numbers

Shell led the Lady Cyclones in the contest with 19 points. No other Elizabethton player reached double figures as Roberts was the next leading scorer with 6 points.

Headrick (4), Cassey Fowler (3), VanHuss (2), and Winters (2) scored the remain points for the Lady Cyclones.

Crawford finished the contest with 25 points to finish as the game-high scorer for the Lady Cougars. Avery Leming totaled 9 points in the victory as well for Central.

Andrews talks Lady Cyclone basketball

“We didn’t bring the effort that we brought last week,” said Andrews. “I think that was the big thing. Central set the tone, and we didn’t respond to well to it.

“They feed it to the big girl (Crawford) and got Morgan (Headrick) into foul trouble. Even in the second half, we didn’t do a very good job on her.

“For some reason, their zone hurt us, and we didn’t respond to that very well.”

Doesn’t get any easier

The Lady Cyclones will get a shot at the Johnson County Lady Longhorns on Friday looking for some payback after dropping their early-season contest on the road to the Lady ‘Horns.

Game time will tip off at 6:30 pm.