by Bryce Phillips

Star Staff

bryce.phillips@elizabethton.com

The Lady Cyclones closed out conference play with a bang, defeating the Lady Rebels  82-28 Tuesday night inside of Sullivan South High School.

“We wanted to come and play hard,” coach Len Dugger said. “We wanted to be effective defensively and get some turnovers and get some transition buckets. I know that South is struggling. I know that they normally have a tremendous team. But their kids fought hard. I was really proud of our kids.”

Kelci Marosites led the Lady Cyclones in scoring, posting a game-high 20 points. Kayla Marosites followed Kelci with 17. Emily Kiser finished the night with 14.

With the win, the Lady Cyclones ended their conference season with a perfect record of 12-0.

“I’m pretty happy,” Kiser said. “I think it is awesome that we are number one in the conference, and we get a bye in the district. That is a big deal in the Tri-Cities.”

After one, the Lady Cyclones had already climbed to a 24-5 lead over the Lady Rebels.

In the second quarter, triples from the Marosites and Haley Burleson helped the Lady Cyclones to a 31-point lead, going to the locker room up 46-15

Emily Kiser opened the third with a bucket sparking a 15-2 run that pushed the Cyclones to a 67-20 lead.

The fourth opened with back-to-back baskets from Megan Pietrowski, before Kiser hit a three, extending the Lady Cyclones’ lead to 76-22. Sullivan South’s Emily Ireson, who finished the night with seven, netted a two and a triple, chipping the gap to 76-27. Elizabethton’s Kyra McCrary answered with a bucket. The final frame ended on back-to-back buckets from EHS’s Autumn Lyons and Bailey Montgomery.

Kiser, who nailed two triples for the night, has been working on her shot.

“I haven’t been shooting as well as did last year,” she said. “All of my teammates have been helping me. I had asked them what I was doing wrong. They are all there helping me and watching me to help make me a better shooter.”

The Lady Cyclones will be traveling to the Hill Friday as they take on the Science Hill Lady Toppers.

“I think we have confidence going into our game with at Science Hill,” Kiser said. “It is not a conference game, but it is a big game for us. They are probably the best team in the area.”

Elizabethton 82

Ke. Marosites 20, Ka. Marosites 17, Kiser 14, Pietrowski 8, Burleson 6, Robinson 5, Schubert 4, McCrary 4, Lyons 2, Montgomery 2

Sullivan South  28

Hutchins 8, Ireson 7, Hembree 4, Hagy 3, Clark 2, Carico 2, McConnell 2

Elizabethton 24 21 24 13 — 82

Sullivan South 5 10 7 6 — 28

3-point goals— Elizabethton 10 (Ke Marosites 3, Ka Marosite 3, Kiser 2, Burleson 2,) Sullivan South (Hutchins 2, Ireson 1)