By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
PINSON – The Clay Chalkville Lady Cougars basketball team traveled to Pinson Friday night for a regional matchup between cross-town rivals and walked out of Mike Dutton Gym with a big win.
The Cougars and Indians both started sort of sluggish, only combining for 17 points in the first quarter. Pinson got the early lead 9-8 with Jada Griffin scoring 4 of the Indians’ points and Cheyenne Pearson with 6 for the Cougars.
The second quarter would be a bit different as the Cougars would see points scored by 6 different players, putting up 19 points and holding Pinson to just 5 in the period. Clay’s Kamoriah Gaines and Tyra Bynum had 6 points each to lead the Cougars while Griffin stayed consistent, adding 4 more points to her total for the Indians. Clay would head into the locker room with a commanding 27-14 lead.
Coming out of the half, the Cougars would continue to build their lead by outscoring Pinson 14-10. Griffin would score 6 points to lead the Indians once again. Clay’s Kameron Sanders would make her presence known by scoring 8 of her team’s 14 points in the quarter, helping the Cougars to a 41-24 lead heading into the final period.
Pinson would find their most success offensively in the fourth quarter, putting up 16 points against the Cougars, led by Griffin again, and Alissa Hawkins who had 5 points each for the Indians. However, the Pinson defense could not slow down the Cougars and they also scored 16 points in the quarter, led by Brooklyn Phillips with 5 points.
Pinson’s Jada Griffin led the Indians in scoring with 19 points, followed by Alissa Hawkins with 13. Clay was led by Cheyenne Pearson, who had 16 points on the night, and Kameron Sanders with 12.
“We got off to a slow start. One of our better scorers got 2 quick fouls in the first minute of the game,” said Kevin Connor, coach of the Cougars. “Tyra Bynum came in and gave us some big-time minutes. The difference in the game was Cheyenne Pearson in the paint. She scored 16 points and controlled the game.”
The Cougars will look to continue their winning ways by hosting Hueytown on Wednesday night. Pinson looks to rebound on Saturday with a visit from Homewood.