Henderson helps Blue Ridge tame Lady Lions
Anyah Henderson put together a complete statline of 21 points, six rebounds, eight steals and eight assists in the Lady Tigers’ 70-54 win over Daniel.
The Blue Ridge Lady Tigers (3-1) continued their strong start to the season on Monday night, taking down the visiting Daniel Lions, 70-54.
In their home opener, the Lady Tigers were led by guard Anyah Henderson who scored 21 points in the win. Versatile forward Danielle Earley added 23 points of her own.
“It feels good to come back from Thanksgiving and win, even if we were a little fatigued or a little tired,” said Henderson. “And it felt great to have the fans behind us tonight.”
With Blue Ridge clinging to a 33-27 halftime lead, Henderson stormed out of the second-half gate with intention and took control of the game, scoring five straight points to give the Lady Tigers a double-digit lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“In the first half, you kind of get to know the team you’re playing a little bit,” Henderson said. “But once the second half starts, it’s ‘go, go, go,’ or you’ll get left behind. We picked it up as a team after halftime.”
“Anyah’s really been working hard at getting to the basket and finishing strong,” said Blue Ridge head coach Alex Smith. “And on top of that, her defensive intensity is off the charts. She probably had around eight or nine steals tonight. We tell her all the time that when her energy is that high, everyone else’s will be, too.”
Smith said he was happy to see his girls put up their best shooting performance of the young season.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well at our tournament last week at Greenville,” he said. “So we were kind of begging for a home game to see if we can get our shooting percentage up, and we did.
“And it’s nice to come out in front of this home crowd, which is a really surprisingly good crowd for a Monday night, and get a win to keep this thing rolling.”
Next up for the Lady Tigers is a 10-minute trip down the road on Friday to face rival Greer. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Daniel 8 19 8 19 - 54
BR 17 16 18 19 - 70
BR SCORING LEADERS
Danielle Earley - 23 pts, 3 ast
Anyah Henderson - 21 pts, 6 reb, 8 stl, 8 ast
Zikira Henderson - 15 pts, 3 ast, 3 stl
Josie Harkins - 6 pts
Audrey Harkins - 3 pts
Alla Hutchins - 2 pts