By Erik Harris
PINSON – Clay-Chalkville lived up to its second-place ranking with a 33-point road victory at Class 6A, Area 12 rival Pinson Valley Friday night.
The Lady Indians kept the score close for much of the first half, but a 12-2 Lady Cougars run to start the third quarter put the game out of reach. The Lady Cougars won 64-31.
The scoring surge came from the hands of numerous Lady Cougars. Head coach Justin Haynie’s girls made six of their first seven third-quarter shots to take control of the contest.
“We need to improve in the third quarter,” said Pinson Valley head coach Kristan Cromer. “In the third quarter is really where we get beat in most games and definitely tonight, they scored 21 and we only scored seven.”
Pinson Valley’s Alex Lowery was matched up with Kristian Hudson for much of the night. That battle was all everyone expected it to be. Neither guard backed down for 32 minutes.
Hudson posted 15 points on the night. Lowery finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
“(Lowery) is our smartest player and when our backs are against the wall, she’s the one we go to,” Cromer said. “I think she did very well (against Hudson).”
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the game came at the charity stripe. Clay-Chalkville got there nine times to the Indians’ one trip.
Haynie got balanced production from his team. T.J. Thomas matched Hudson’s 15 points and Raven Omar worked her way to an eight-point evening.
That balance will be needed Tuesday night when the Lady Cougars welcome No. 3 Center Point for their last area game of the year. A win would give Clay-Chalkville a perfect 4-0 area record.