Aggressive Washington tops Lady Rams for first win
Published 12:02 am Thursday, November 26, 2015
![MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS STOPPING SHORT: Lakitia Basnight puts the brakes on and pulls up for a short jump shot in Wednesday’s win over Greene Central.](https://www.thewashingtondailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/11/WEBSPORTS_Aggressive-Washington-tops-Lady-Rams-for-first-win.jpg)
MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS
STOPPING SHORT: Lakitia Basnight puts the brakes on and pulls up for a short jump shot in Wednesday’s win over Greene Central.
Things looked awfully similar for Washington Wednesday evening against Greene Central. The girls were just coming off a loss to Northern Nash. They were tied going into halftime before the visitors took over and cruised to the win.
It was apparent that they learned something from the season opening loss. It was another close game at halftime with Washington leading 20-16. This time, the Pam Pack came out with the same aggression they saw from Northern Nash the night before and it resulted in a 54-37 win.
Naiya Whitley kicked off an 11-2 run with an and-one layup. Tierra Wiggins hit a three, which Whitley followed up with one of her own.
“I think we learned something from yesterday,” said head coach Ralph Biggs. “This game, they realized there are two halves and they have to be ready. They came out strong. Northern Nash, I’ll give them credit. They taught us something. They taught the team more than I’ve taught them the last two weeks. That helped them a lot. They realized they have to come out aggressive. I thank Northern Nash for that.”
That’s why Biggs gave all the credit to the girls for their first win of the season, but took all the blame for the loss to the Lady Knights.
“It’s always a good win with the first win,” Biggs said. “The girls can be very happy about it. In my opinion, I take the first loss and the girls take the first win. It’s great.”
Aniyah Jones, Khalicia Lee and Makayla Jones made three quick field goals that pulled the visiting Lady Rams within seven, but that was about all the Pam Pack conceded. Nazayih Parker and Wiggins used their speed to get opportunities in transition.
Whitley capped off the third quarter when she put home an easy layup set up by a dazzling pass by Wiggins. It gave Washington a 44-27 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
“Today was better for the offense,” Biggs said. “We got in transition in the open court to get some layups and easy baskets. I think it really helped our confidence.”
Greene Central got treys early in the fourth quarter, but would only come within 13 points of the hosts. Washington struck a few more times at the rim to seal the deal.
Washington was able to start separating itself in the first quarter. The defensive effort made it hard for Greene Central to string together scoring possessions, which made it hard for the visitors to battle back once they got in a hole.
“The defense played great,” Biggs said. “The girls put a lot of effort into it. The last few minutes, they gave more. I think they started to get tired.”