NEOSHO, Mo. — The Lady Tigers used a 16-6 first quarter run, and Kianna Yates scored her 1,000th career point, in the 54-34 win over the Neosho Wildcats Monday, snapping a two game skid and picking up their first COC win of the season.
“(Kianna’s) teammates were so excited for her when we called time out,” said Carthage coach Scott Moore. “She is such a great basketball player and an even better teammate. We are proud of her and know she will score many more points before her career is over.”
Yates finished with 14 points on the night. Lauren Choate also had 14 points, while Maggie Boyd added 12 points. Sophie Shannon had 6 points for the Tigers, Presley Probert finished with 2 points and Daniela Marquez added 1 point.
“Good road win for us tonight,” added Moore. “Neosho plays a tough 2-1-2 zone and it took us a few minutes to get into a rhythm. When we did, the shots started to fall and we were able to play with a double digit lead for most of the game.”
The Tiger defense held Neosho to single digits in three of the four quarters played and scored in double digits every quarter, including a 17 point fourth to cap off the win.
“The biggest key to victory tonight was our defense,” said Moore. “We switched between about four different defenses to keep Neosho off-balance. It’s a huge credit to all 10 girls who played that they handled all of that so well.”
