Oliver Springs at Midway - Girls' Basketball

By Justin Braden

KINGSTON –  

It was a bell-to-bell victory for the Midway Lady Wave as they defeated the Oliver Springs Lady Bobcats 59-27 on Friday night at Midway High School. The win advances the Lady Wave to the second round of the TSSAA playoffs.

Midway (19-10, 6-2 in 1A-Distrct 4) opened the game with a 14-0 run. Tatum Collier struck first for the Lady Wave—faking left at the top of the key before driving back inside and through the Lady Bobcats' zone with a lay-in.

On the next Midway possession, Addie Armes drew a double team out of Oliver Springs’ (6-28, 2-6 in 1A- District 3) zone. The senior hooked a pass over the two defenders and found Chloa Copeland wide open in the lane for the score.

On the next play, Copeland took the ball on the wing and found Kyleigh Cawood sprinting out of the paint and back to the perimeter. Cawood unloaded a contested 3-pointer from five feet beyond the line to extend Midway’s early lead.

“They came out and played with some passion and some effort. Defensively, we did a good job. We made our shots. Our threes were going down in that first and second quarter. I was real pleased with the ball movement and defensive effort,” said Midway head coach Tim Smith.

Midway continued to move the ball around the zone in the second quarter. From the top of the key again, Cawood got the ball over to Millie Bacon, who found Armes hiding wide open in the corner for three.

“They have some young players, so we thought if we could cut or move, then they might be ball-watching sometimes, and that would get us some open shots. We did a real good job trying to work it inside more to work it back out,” Smith said.

Cawood continued to attack inside. In a quarter where the Lady Wave hit 4 of their 8 3-pointers, the junior drove into the paint, around one defender with her left hand before quickly changing back to the right to hit a runner over the top of the Lady Bobcats’ zone defense.

“Kyleigh—she’s Miss Consistent. She’s the girl that leads our team. Her effort is always there, and she just does such a great job getting to the basket and getting to the free-throw line. She does a great job getting others open so they can get a great shot,” Smith said.

Early in the third, Cawood pulled off the same play again. This time, though, she drew a triple team as she drove through the zone but finished the shot with her left hand to extend the Lady Wave’s lead further.

The next play really defined the night. Armes drew a double team out on the perimeter and faked the drive inside, but instead of challenging inside and driving the lane, she generously dished the ball back out to Copeland, who hit a 14-foot jumper from the corner.

Up Next

Midway takes on district rival Harriman from Dallas Reed Davis Gym at Wartburg High School on Monday night. The Lady Wave took two out of three games from the Lady Blue Devils this season, but Harriman dominated in its one win—winning at Midway by 16 points only a few short weeks ago.

“We have to take care of the ball. We can’t just throw it all over the place. They have some really good athletes and can get up and down the floor. We have to make them earn it,” Smith said.

O .. 5 .. 5.. 9 .. 8 .. – 27

M .. 17 .. 16 .. 20 .. 6 .. – 59

Oliver Springs (6-28):

Jaylen Brown 10, Bailey Barger 9, Hallie Wright 8

Midway (19-10):

Kyleigh Cawood 19, Tatum Collier 12, Cloa Copeland 8, Millie Bacon 5, Caitlyn Childress 4, Addie Armes 3, Daylee Edwards 3, Kiersten Ruffner 3, Chloe Jarnigan 2

3 Pointers: O 1 (Barger 1); M 8 (Cawood 2, Collier 2, Armes 1, Bacon 1, Edwards 1, Ruffner 1) 

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