Leaving with something: Lady Rebels take down Knott Central in Gatlinburg
Chassidy Rookard scored game’s final five points to give the Lady Rebels a 52-47 win over Knott Central (KY).
After two tournament losses where her team was hardly competitive, Byrnes girls basketball coach Missy Fowler simply wanted her girls to “show up” for their third game.
The Lady Rebels faced off against Knott Central (KY) in the consolation game at the Smoky Mountain Classic tournament in Gatlinburg, TN.
They were determined to leave with something, and that they did. The Lady Rebels (9-5) pulled out a 52-47 win over Knott Central to conclude their trip to Tennessee.
“If we learned anything during this trip, hopefully these girls can take some mental toughness away from here,” said Fowler. “Even when things aren’t going your way, you’ve got to keep pushing.”
The first half was sluggish between both teams, with the combined shooting percentage between the Lady Rebels and Lady Patriots situated just under 30 percent. Knott Central took a 23-21 lead into the break.
The Lady Rebels dominated on the offensive glass in the third quarter to take a 38-32 lead into the fourth, but a late 8-0 Knott Central run tied the game at 47 with just under a minute to go.
Lady Rebels guard Chassidy Rookard took over from there, scoring the final five points of the game to give Byrnes the win.
“It felt like we were getting any foul calls for our team, so it was hard to stay locked in the whole game,” said Rookard. “But we pushed through at the end. You just have to play through it.”
The Lady Rebels will welcome T.L. Hanna on Jan.4 and Mauldin on Jan. 5 before opening region play with a matchup against Spartanburg on Jan. 9.
“We know that adversity is going to come our way, and we’ve just got to play through it,” said Rookard. “We’ve got to keep our minds level, play as a team and trust each other. If we do that, we can go far.”
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Byrnes 9 12 17 14 - 52
Knott Central (KY) 7 16 9 15 - 47
STAT LEADERS
Chassidy Rookard - 26 points
Te’Ericka Dowling - 12 points
Caroline Turner - 8 points