CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Lady Eagles hosted the West Creek Coyotes in a rivalry matchup at Northeast High on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Led by a 27-point performance from Qimara Summers, Northeast earned their first win of the year by a total of 45-30.
Defense was the name of the game early on with both teams having defensive success. The Eagles were able to hold the Coyotes to only 9 total points in the first half, and their defense allowed for plenty of transition opportunities for Summers.
Northeast head coach Tracy Mason-Blair loved the effort from her players, on both sides of the ball, but especially defensively.
“They played hard tonight,” said Mason-Blair. “We had players step up, and we’ve been continuing to get better. It’s hard to stop Summers when she gets in her zone, and we hope she continues to keep doing what she’s doing.”
While the Coyotes would put up more scoring in the second half, the deficit was too big to overcome.
MORE: West Creek boys basketball outlasts Northeast in physical battle | PHOTOS
Despite the loss, West Creek head coach Mikaela Coleman liked what she saw on the defensive end of the floor but wants to see her players take advantage of the opportunities.
“We’re forcing turnovers; we have all year,” said Coleman. “We just get a turnover ourselves on the other end, we have to play smarter and take care of the ball. It’s the little things, but we’re going to get better.”
As for Northeast, it’s their first victory of the season, and one they look to build off of going into the rest of the year. “We got number one under our belt,” said Mason-Blair. “Now we have to get back and go to work. I tell them all the time, every time we step on the floor, we have to get better at something. If we do that, we’re going to get better as a team.”
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