Lumpkin 8th grade girls 2-1 to start season

The LCMS eighth grade girls basketball team looks to be on track to defend its Mountain League Championship title this season after the team started the 2019-2020 season with a 2-1 record.
“These eighth grade ladies have got it going on,” said LCMS assistant girls basketball coach Laura Wilson. “Their chemistry on and off the court is a great to witness. They are always willing to pick each other up and sharpen iron with iron when it comes to working on their skills and game situations.”
The eighth grade team began the season with a huge victory over the White County Lady Warriors when the two teams met up at White County Middle School on Monday, Nov. 4, for the Lady Indians’ 2019-2020 season opener.
Lady Indian standout Averie Jones dropped 21 points against the Lady Warriors and helped Lumpkin earn a 42-20 win over White County in the game.
Jones was helped out by the solid play of Madison Powell, who dominated the low post for Lumpkin. Powell contributed 12 points and was a huge factor down low, pulling down rebounds and making life hard for the Lady Warriors’ shooters.
The victory gave the Lady Indians a 1-0 start to the season.
Lumpkin continued to roll when they hosted the Union County Lady Panthers at the LCMS gymnasium on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Lumpkin jumped out to a fast start against the Lady Panthers, outscoring Union 25-9 in the first quarter.
With a mix of superb defense and solid offensive play, the Lady Indians again outscored Union in the second quarter to hold on to a 37-13 advantage going into the halftime break.
Jones, who has proven herself to be a scoring machine throughout her career with the Lady Indians, knocked down 16 points in the first half to help Lumpkin maintain the lead at halftime.
Jones was helped out by the dominant low post play of Powell, who scored 13 first half points.
Union County tried to mount a comeback attempt in the third quarter. The Lady Panthers scored 12 points in the third quarter, but Lumpkin kept a 51-25 advantage by outscoring Union 14-12.
The Lady Indians were only able to score four points in the final quarter of play, but had built a big enough lead during the game that they were able to emerge victorious 55-31.
Jones finished the game as the Lady Indians’ top scorer with 20 points, Powell followed right behind Jones with 19 points and Mary Richardson added eight points versus Union.
Wilson praised Jones’ and Powell’s performances so far this season and attributed their success to their strong work ethics and leadership.
“Averie [Jones] and Madison [Powell] are quite the duo,” Wilson said. “They spent many hours over the summer with both the middle school and high school working on their game. Averie is one of our captains their year and leads with such grace that it is infectious to all of her teammates. Madison is such a great role model when it comes to putting the time and work in to play at the next level.”
The win improved the Lady Indians’ overall record to 2-0.
The LCMS Lady Indians followed their win over Union by traveling to Pickens County to take on the Dragonettes on Thursday, Nov. 14.
Despite not having Jones in the lineup due to illness, the Lady Indians battled with Pickens County through all four quarters of action and forced overtime with the Dragonettes.
However, the overtime period proved to be all Pickens County, as the Dragonettes were able to pull out a seven-point win over the Lady Indians.
Powell led the charge for the Lady Indians in the overtime loss, knocking down 30 points. Ciera Brooks contributed 16 points and Ava Jones added nine points.
The 74-67 loss marked the first for the Lady Indians this season and dropped their overall record to 2-1.
Despite the loss, Wilson is confident that the sky is the limit for this year’s eighth grade team.
“This year’s team is hungry for a championship and they prove it each day we step onto the floor at practice,” Wilson said. “I have spent a lot of time dreaming up the possibilities for this year’s team and the truth is there is nothing this team cannot accomplish if they keep with it. I cannot wait to see how this year unfolds.”