ONI FIRE

By TJ MAXWELL

Cove Leader-Press

 

The Copperas Cove Lady Dawgs fought off an early threat from Granbury post players Amber Strange and Gabbie Nunn, who combined for 19 of the Lady Pirates’ 26 points in the first half. The Lady Dawgs defense then held the Lady Pirates to four field goals and 20 points while posting 39 second-half points.

 

“It’s definitely good to have that kind of night,” said Cove head basketball coach Eldridge McAdams. “We scored more points than they did so we had to play some defense somewhere down the line.

 

“They were tough in the first half. (Strange and Nunn) were doing some things. We made some adjustments at halftime and I think that’s when we got the momentum. We came out and did what we were supposed to do. We were able to communicate, get in our spots and we made it tough for them. We were stopping (Strange and Nunn) a little higher with the ball.”

 

11 of the 12 players on the Cove roster put notches in the scoring column with eight players scoring five or more points.

 

Sophomore Oni Boodoo showed off her versatility with a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. She showed her touch on the jump shot with a pair of three-pointers to begin the game and finished the game with presence in the paint with five of her rebounds coming on the offensive end and 10 of her game-high 16 points coming in the interior.

 

“That’s the kind of player she is,” McAdams said of Boodoo. “She’s going to compete, she’ll go in and rebound, she’ll shoot it outside and all those things. I think that’s the group we’ve got. It doesn’t have to be the same person every night. We have a team and tonight was Oni’s night.” 

 

Leading 30-26 at the half, the Cove defense spurred an 11-4 run to open their lead to 41-30 with 2:57 left in the third period.

 

A three-pointer by junior Mariyah Reynolds, followed by steals for coast-to-coast layups by Boodoo and Reynolds began the run and Boodoo finished it from the free throw line. 

 

“I felt really good and I felt like the whole team had a really good vibe,” said Boodoo. “We came out ready to play. We learned how that played in the first half and we were able to utilize our players to switch off.”

 

The Lady Dawgs then pulled away with a 21-7 run over the next seven minutes of game action spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a commanding 62-40 lead with under four minutes to play. 

 

Aggressive play in the paint that resulted in multiple second-shot opportunities led the way for Cove. Junior Erica Powell; along with Boodoo, junior Yaqar Elmore, senior Dejhana Butler and senior Kayla McCloud; all scored on second chance opportunities during the run.

 

Butler scored all eight of her points on second chance opportunities to lead the Lady Dawgs’ 25-point effort in the fourth. Seven different players scored for Cove in the period.

 

“Rebounding is a big factor,” said Boodoo. “You’ve got to get on the boards or you can’t get those second and third shots.”

 

One of the glaring factors in the win was the decrease in turnovers by the Cove offense that has plagued them in some of their losses. The team averages in the high 20s in their losses and cut that number nearly in half with their win on Tuesday.

 

“If we can keep the turnovers under 15 like we did, that’s definitely good,” said McAdams. “That just comes with being patient and not forcing things and I thought tonight we did not (force things).”

 

Boodoo scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the first half. Two three pointers by Boodoo, another by Reynolds and a driving basket by sophomore point guard Madison Griffon pushed the Lady Dawgs out to an 11-0 lead just three minutes into the contest.

 

The Lady Pirates narrowed the lead to just three, 12-9, highlighted by 7 for 8 free throws. A bucket in the paint by senior Chyanne Chapman temporarily halted the Lady Pirates run before another run gave Granbury a 17-15 lead.

 

Another steal for a layup by Boodoo and a three-pointer by senior Rita Phillips snatched the lead back for the 20-17. Freshman Madisen Honea scored two points on a drive and two more from the charity stripe while Chapman and Boodoo worked for points in the paint to maintain a slim lead, 30-26, at the break.

 

It was all Cove from there.

 

Reynolds was next behind Boodoo in scoring with nine followed by Butler (8), Honea (7), Powell (6), Chapman (6), McCloud (5), Phillips (5), Griffon (4), Jayda Carter (2) and Elmore (1). Chapman added nine rebounds, Powell added seven and McCloud and Butler had six each. Griffon led in assists with five and Boodoo led in steals with four. 

 

Nunn led the Lady Pirates with 16 points and Strange had 15.

 

Coach McAdams likes the fight he saw from his team with just one game remaining before the brutal District 8-6A commences next Friday with the district opener at home against Belton. They close out the nondistrict slate against Manor today with a 6:30 tip.

 

“When you compete, you’re always going to give yourself a chance to win,” he said. “You’re not going to always shoot the ball well but if you’re competing and getting after it, that’s all we want.”

 

Boodoo also knows communication is the key.

 

“I feel like, with time, we are going to develop more on defense and offense,” she said. “We need to work on the help side, talking more, knowing when we’re going to switch off and how we’re going to play certain players.”