Lady Eagles apply no mercy rule, win by 53

After clobbering the Antioch Lady Panthers by 53 points Friday night, Kennedy Lady Eagles head coach Rae Jackson told his players to go home, eat something good, take a hot bath and to jump into bed. Saturday afternoon would be no different as the Lady Eagles (5-2) play their fourth game in five days.

Sitting at 2-9 heading in to Friday night’s game in Richmond, the Lady Panthers were stung from the very beginning by Kennedy’s swarming defense. After one quarter Antioch managed to drop just one bucket, and at the half they trailed by 36 points.

But in the world of basketball nothing is perfect. And at intermission Kennedy coaches told their players they looked slow and were playing me-first basketball.

“Y’all need to share the ball a little more and don’t worry about who’s scoring,” Jackson told his players sitting in the locker room. “Hit the open man all the time. When you come down on a 2-on-1 fast break and you force a jumper, it looks like you’re selfish.”

Not wanting to look uncharitable in front of a handful of friends and relatives, the Lady Eagles finished the night with 20 assists. Raven Caldwell led the way with eight.

But it was Kennedy’s first-half defense that set the tone for the rest of the game. For the game, the Lady Eagles forced 41 Antioch turnovers.

“A lot of people don’t understand that we’re a defensive oriented pressing team first,” Jackson said. “Press, run and trap. That’s what we do.”