Lady Tigers guard Cheiyanne Norton leads a fast break against Millington last week. Arlington won the contest 70-26 and went on to beat Cordova 61-41 on Friday.
By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Sports Editor
The Millington Lady Trojans were keeping pace in the early moments against the best team in District 14-3A.
Lady Trojans like Gabby Knox and Jhardae Walker scored buckets on the south basket of the Williams Osteen Gymnasium to make the score 9-6 in favor of the Arlington Lady Tigers. Then it appeared Head Coach David Offerle’s Lady Tigers snapped out of their funk on Jan. 28 with a 14-2 run to close out the first quarter leading 23-8. Arlington remained unbeaten in league play pulling away for a 70-26 victory.
“We talked about that before the game,” Offerle noted. “We’ve had earlier games where we don’t come out aggressive enough. Especially playing at their place, you want to get out on them earlier with a young team.” The Lady Tigers started to exert their will when sophomore forward Reagyn Branch scored four points to make Arlington’s lead 13-6. Then her teammate Torrie Sewell added four points with a steal leading to a layup and a pair of foul shots.
Arlington built on its 23-8 first-quarter advantage, outscoring Millington 14-3 in the second quarter. Lady Tigers like Samantha Souers and Mirrakohl Johnson scored in the period. Souers had a three-point play to make the score 35-9.
The Lady Tigers were ahead 37-11 at the break. Then some of Offerle’s young players came off the bench in the third quarter, keeping pace with the Lady Trojans and making the score 53-21 after the third quarter.
“I love our bench,” Offerle said. “We try to get deep into it. We have 12 kids and you never know what’s going to happen. Someone might get into foul trouble or hurt. The more minutes the younger kids and the bench get that’s full of sophomore and freshmen, the better will be in the long run.”
Arlington added 17 points in the fourth quarter to improve to 16-5 overall. The Lady Tigers remain in the top position in District 14-3A standings with the upcoming tournament approaching to be played at Millington.
