Hendersonville Christian Academy senior Marian Silva shields the ball away from (L to R) Merrol Hyde Magnet sophomore Lauren Buchanen, senior Katie Frisbee and junior Alex Lloyd during fourth-quarter action. Silva scored two points.
HENDERSONVILLE The Hendersonville Christian Academy girls basketball team is finding wins more often … and having more fun doing it too.
The visiting Lady Crusaders collected their 10th victory of the season on Thursday evening, traveling across New Shackle Island Rd. for a 44-19 victory at Merrol Hyde Magnet in the teams’ second meeting of the season.
HCA (10-16) controlled the contest from the opening tip, scoring the game’s first 17 points and taking a 23-2 lead at halftime.
“We try to equate things like a boxing match,” HCA head coach Jack Keller said. “Somebody’s got to come out and throw the first punch. We try and emphasize that. It’s about the way you get off to a good start, and I think the kids did a good job of that.”
Sophomore point guard Lauren Batey led all scorers with 10 points and made two of Hendersonville Christian’s three 3-pointers.
“We’ve grown a lot,” Batey said. “We’ve worked on a lot of fundamentals in practice, and we work together.”
Six different Lady Crusaders scored in the first half.
Merrol Hyde Magnet freshman Grace Riley dribbles toward the basket during third-quarter action. Riley scored three points.
The Lady Hawks did not score a field goal in the first half, settling for two free throws from senior Katie Frisbee.
“We played so well the last two weeks,” Lady Hawk head coach Kelley Graham said. “The first half was probably our worst half that we’ve played in that last two weeks.”
Freshman Grace Riley connected on a 3-pointer to open the second half for the Lady Hawks, but HCA – which claimed a 56-23 victory when the two teams met on Jan. 7 – ran off 12 unanswered points to build a 35-8 lead with 2:02 left in the third quarter.
The Lady Hawks opened the final period with an 11-2 run, with freshman Caroline Riley – who led the Lady Hawks offensively with eight points – connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers during the spurt.
“I feel like in the second half, they came out more aggressive,” Graham said. “They came out more under control.”
Merrol Hyde Magnet outscored HCA by an 11-8 margin in the fourth quarter.
Hendersonville Christian Academy sophomore Desi Munson dribbles past Merrol Hyde Magnet sophomore Kendall Frisbee during second-quarter action. Munson scored eight points.
However, by that time, the Lady Crusaders were well in control, and focusing on having fun while doing it.
“It’s a blast,” Batey said. “It’s like a family, inside and out. We always hang out. It’s a small school, so it’s tightly-packed.”
Keller believes that his players have bought into the culture he is trying to create.
“They really love the family atmosphere that we have,” Keller said. “It’s just a natural outpouring of the love that they have for each other. It’s not something I have to ignite. They ignite it themselves.”
Meanwhile, the Lady Hawks are hoping to build for next year as well.
“I feel like from where we were in November, we’ve improved,” Graham said.
>> The Merrol Hyde Magnet girls ended the regular season by suffering a 56-16 loss at Goodpasture on Friday evening.
The Lady Hawks dropped a 48-20 contest to the visiting Lady Cougars on Jan. 15.
On Friday, Merrol Hyde Magnet (0-17 overall, 0-10 in District 8-A) trailed 23-0 after one period of play before outscoring Goodpasture by a 10-8 margin in the second stanza.
Frisbee led the Lady Hawks with 11 points, and Alex Lloyd and Caroline Riley provided three and two points, respectively.
Sophomores Lauren King and Paige Randolph led the Lady Cougars offensively with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.
HENDERSONVILLE CHRISTIAN (44) – Lauren Batey 10, Lindsie Mierop 9, Desi Munson 8, Ali Turc 7, April Wooley 6, Marian Silva 2, Cookie Smith 2.
MERROL HYDE MAGNET (19) – Caroline Riley 8, Katie Frisbee 6, Grace Riley 3, Alex Lloyd 2.
Half: 23-2, HCA. Three-point goals: HCA 3 (Batey 2, Turc 1), Merrol Hyde Magnet 3 (C. Riley 2, G. Riley 1). Records: HCA 10-16, Merrol Hyde Magnet 0-16.