photo by Dennis Norwood
How a team finishes if often more important than how they start. At least, that's how Walker Valley coach Bob Williams likes to look at it.
The Mustangs were on the road to face East Ridge at the Catherine Neely Gymnasium Monday night and they didn't get off to a very good start as the Pioneers were clicking on all cylinders.
But after trailing by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, the Mustangs made a few changes at the break and the results were positive as Walker Valley improved to 2-4 with the 71-60 non-district victory.
"I don't know if we were looking ahead to tomorrow night's game with McMinn Central or what, but we got off to a horrible start," said Williams afterward.
"We just didn't come out with any intensity at the start and you can't do that, but we played okay after we picked it up. I can see potential in these guys and that's why I push them, but we have to be more focused than we were.
"We played with more of a sense of urgency after the first quarter and I thought we played well for the last three quarters," Williams added.
Kevin Blair and Dominique Millener each sank field goals as East Ridge got off to a 4-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game.
A 3 from Josh Jones at the 3:11 mark drew the Mustangs within 7-5 before East Ridge enjoyed an 11-2 run, building its biggest lead of the game at 18-7 with 1:18 showing following a 3 by Jesse Jones.
The difference was 18-11 when the first quarter ended.
Jo Jo Tillery converted a four-point play with 5:38 left in the second to give the Pioneers a 26-18 advantage, but Walker Valley then scored eight unanswered points to knot the score at 26-26 following a baseline drive by Sean Conway with 3:04 remaining.
The Mustangs were able to tie the score two more times before the break, but Blair's short jumper in the final minute allowed East Ridge to carry a 32-30 lead into the dressing room at intermission.
Jones sank two free throws at the 7:02 mark of the second half and a nice drive 33 seconds later as Walker Valley took the lead for the first time, but East Ridge then scored six of the next eight for a 38-36 lead with 4:45 left following a short jumper in the lane by Dominique Millener.
Those were the last points of the stanza as Walker Valley finished on an 11-0 run before scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter for a 51-38 difference.
The Pioneers got to within nine points at 54-45 following two free throws by Tillery with 5:53 to play, but they never got any closer.
"We just aren't there yet," explained East Ridge coach Jon Goddard when asked about the second-half turnaround.
"Walker Valley switched defenses and we just stood around. They played harder in the second half while we just got lazy. We knew they weren't going to miss forever because they're a good-shooting team, but we just didn't do what we needed to do to win.
"We were in the right tempo at the start, but we let their pressure defense totally change our mind set. We don't have a go-to guy right now and it hurt," he added.
Jones was a steady performer from start to finish as he scored 23 points to lead Walker Valley. Bryce Nunnelly got hot with 14 points in the second half to follow with 18.
Tillery was the leader for East Ridge with 19 points while Blair was next with 16.
Walker Valley also did a better job on the boards in the second half and finished with a 28-20 edge in rebounds. Conway had seven for the Mustangs while Jacob Herd claimed six. Blair had five caroms for the Pioneers while De'Arius Moore had four.
WALKER VALLEY GIRLS 73, EAST RIDGE 23:
photo by Dennis Norwood