BASKETBALL: Lady Indians off to 6-0 start after beating A-J
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The DuQuoin High School Girls Basketball Team absolutely "thumped" the Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats in a conference contest on the Indians home court Tuesday evening. DuQuoin displayed a tenacious defense that greatly slowed down A-J's offense. The Indians took the victory 55-34. This is the first conference game and win for the Indians, who are now 6-0 overall.
The Indians led at the end of the first quarter 20-6 and at the half 36-15. After three quarters, the score was 44-25 with DuQuoin still leading. The final score was 55-34.
DuQuoin's Jessica Hirsch scored 11 points in the first quarter, and went on to total 24 points for the evening even while sitting out much of the fourth period. Rebekah Maddox had a good night under the basket with 13 points. Abby Myers chipped in 6 points, Shelby Presley 6, Bailie Caldwell 4, and Alexis Kohrs had 2 points. Kelsey Robinson and Taylor King also saw playing time for the Indians. Cassidy Rice is out with an injury. Anna-Jonesboro's leading scorers were Brooke Chamness with 12 points, Jessi Stone with 10 points, and Kimberly Mixen with 7 points.
Coach Shawn File was happy with the win, and went on to say: "It got ugly in the second half. We had a good first half. When we are patient on offense, we get good looks, and it looks pretty. We have a tendency to force the ball in the second half, and we play to fast. We have to continue to move our feet on defense, and we must rebound better."
The Junior Varsity Team, under the direction of Coach Jason James, played their first game of the season. The JV won a close game 29-27. At the end of the first quarter, the scored was tied at 8. DuQuoin had a 15-10 lead at the half. At the end of the third quarter, DuQuoin led 25-13. DuQuoin only scored four points in the fourth quarter, and allowed A-J to close the gap. DuQuoin managed to hold on to win 29-27.
Bailie Caldwell led DuQuoin with 12 points. Carissa Graham had 9 points, Jacqueline Harsy 5, Kelsey Robinson 2, and Amanda Atteberry 1. Other teams members are: Lela Spiller, Morgan Dennis, Shelby Simmons, and Ashanti Warren. The leading scorers for A-J were Krista Pender with 8 points, and Natty Hepburn with 7 points.
The Indians play again at home on Thursday against Harrisburg. Game time for the JV is 6:15.
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