BASKETBALL: Murphysboro too much to handle for DHS
Du Quoin's girls ran into a buzzsaw on Friday night, as Murphysboro improved to 3-0 at the Lady Indians Tip-Off Classic with a dominant 63-27 victory.
The Lady Devils wasted no time in putting DHS away, building a 23-6 lead after just one quarter of play. Du Quoin managed just eight field goals and had no answer for Murphysboro's man-to-man defense.
"We've seen a lot of zone the last couple nights with Woodlawn and Elverado," said DHS head coach Shawn File, "and we just can't practice that kind of intensity against man-to-man defense (like Murphysboro's). We'd like to do that, be able to get up and press and get after people. They're a good basketball team, and that was some of the strongest pressure we'll probably see all year. They really get after you, they really do a good job with it."
Despite the lopsided loss, there's plenty of reason for optimism from the Lady Indians' perspective. They suffered a similar defeat to the Devils last season at the Tip-Off before beating them at the Herrin Holiday Hoops Tournament a month later.
"Last year we lost to them in our tournament by 20-25 points, then we beat them in overtime (at Herrin's holiday tournament)," File said. "We've talked to the girls, it's a process, it's about trying to get a little bit better. Tonight was a game where I thought we looked like we were scared. They caused a lot of turnovers, but a lot of them were unforced. They're a physical team, they rebound the basketball well, they've got two or three girls that can shoot, and they score easy baskets. When you can do those type of things, you're going to be competitive."
Alaina Caldwell scored ten points to lead Du Quoin. Tarynn Mays scored four points, Hannah Baxter, Kate Smith and Jordyn Bullar each had three, and Sadie Day and Mackenzie Jackson both finished with two.
Johnna Hines had 21 points for Murphysboro to lead all scorers and was joined in double figures by Jasmine Frazier (15).
Du Quoin (1-2) will meet Johnston City on Monday at the Tip-Off with an 8:30 p.m. start time, then close out the tournament on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. against Steeleville.