By Marco Clark, exclusive to the Times
The Lady Chiefs faced off against the Lady Knights of South Beauregard Monday night earning a 61-36 victory. With the departure of Jolie Williams, Chiefs head coach Nikki Jones looked toward her assortment of youthful players. The new Lady Chiefs dominated from the opening whistle to the final horn. During the first quarter Nia Hardison, Teanna Payton and Junti Franklin used speed, accurate passing and good shot selection to give NCHS a comfortable lead, which in turn allowed Coach Jones to go to her bench early. The next five players entered and picked up where the first five left off.
There was no let down whatsoever. These young ladies played relentless the entire time they were in the game. Franklin and Re Re Bowers each contributed 6 points to lead all scores during the second quarter to solidify a 39-11 lead at the half. Coming out of halftime, the Lady Chiefs did not take their foot off of the pedal. They proceeded to pour on the scoring as well as effecting a stifling defense.
The Lady Knights coach said during a Lady Knights timeout, “If you can’t complete we can leave now and forfeit the rest of the game.” The speech did not translate to better play on the court as the Lady Chiefs continued to dominate. Selena Humphrey did not help the Lady Knights plight either.
She controlled the paint on both ends of the floor. Her presence alone forced the Lady Knights to attempt low percentage shots throughout the game. Franklin led all Lady Chiefs in scoring with 16 points, Nia Hardison had 13, Bowers had 10 and Teanna Payton added 9.