SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — The Social Circle Lady Redskins were unable to get anything going in the first half against the Union County Lady Panthers and ultimately fell by a score of 56-24.
It truly was a tale of two halves as the Lady Redskins struggles mainly came in the first half of play. Heading into the halftime break, they trailed the Lady Panthers 35-5.
Lady Redskins head coach Kimberly Battle highlighted the team's lack of experience and aggression in the post as what led to the tremendous early deficit.
"Our slow first half was due to inexperience. They came out more physical when we were and then fundamentals, boxing out more than we were," she said. "Kind of not taking a little bit of time to get into the flow of our offense and not trying to rip and run with our offense, so trying to play a half-court offense."
The Lady Redskins completely changed their game plan on both sides of the ball, and they found great success with their new scheme. In the first half, they ran more of a zone defensive scheme but the transition to a man-to-man defense paid off for them.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Lady Redskins ran more of a half-court set, and as Battle mentioned, this was not working. So the transition into a fast-paced running offense allowed them to use their great speed to overcome the Lady Panthers' great size.
"My initial thought was to pack it inside to get more offensive and defensive rebounding, but obviously that didn't work," Battle said. "So we came out second half and went man-to-man to a little bit of pressure on the ball and see if they could handle the ball. So that spread the floor a little bit and get more spacing, which helped our offense as well."
In the second half of play, the Lady Panthers still held the edge, but this time they only outscored the Lady Redskins 21-19. Battle has to be pleased to see her team bounce back and forge somewhat of a comeback despite being down by such a hefty amount early.
With only one senior and two juniors, Battle knows that as these players get more experience they can only get better.
However, one such underclassman that seemed to be a main cog for the Lady Redskins is sophomore Taylor Favors, who led her team in scoring and had 14 of the team's 24 points. Favors displayed rare athleticism and an ability to use her outstanding speed to get up and down the court in a very quick fashion.
Favors played a huge role in the second-half turnaround, and Battle knows she can be something special as she grows and develops her game.
"She's a great asset to the team on both sides of the ball, and without her, we would struggle heavily," Battle said. "She's like the motor, if that makes sense, as she goes, they go. If she's moving and running the offense, they go. Defensively, if she's playing and reading the lanes, then we're going."
Battle highlighted that she would like to see improvement in her team's aggression and post-play moving forward, but knows as her team begins to lock down the fundamentals, then better play will come.
The Lady Redskins will look to get back on track on Friday, Dec. 20, as they go on the road to take on the Stone Mountain Lady Pirates, a team that defeated the Lady Redskins in their first game 53-35.
