Payson Roundup

A break-neck jump-start in which the Lady Longhorns outscored Show Low 14-2 in the opening eight minutes lifted PHS to a relatively easy 44-31 D-III, S-III win over the Lady Cougars.

On Jan. 10 in SLHS gymnasium, Payson never trailed in the contest, building leads of 22-10 at halftime and 35-17 early in the fourth quarter, allowing first-year coach Jen White to empty her bench.

“Our jayvee players saw a lot of playing time,” said White. “They played well against a rough team.”

White’s strategy against the Show Low 2-3 zone defense was to try and drop the ball into the low-post players where they could work for close-in shots, layups and put-backs.

“We were able to break down (the zone) by moving the ball with intensity,” White said.

Following the team’s return to Payson late Tuesday evening, White praised senior guard Molly Davis saying, “She played well.” Davis finished with 11 points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist.

Chioya Hill, a 5-foot-10-inch junior, scored 11 points and pounded the boards for a game-high 11 rebounds.

Emmee Ashby led the Horns in scoring with 12 points on commendable 63 percent shooting from her low-post position. The 5-foot-11-inch sophomore, who stars in volleyball as well as basketball, also corralled eight rebounds.

On defense, the Lady Longhorns’ stifling full court man-to-man pressure frustrated Show Low all evening long, especially in the opening quarter when SL was held to a single field goal.

Show Low’s three leading scorers, finished with just six points each. Also, the PHS defense held Rebakah Young, one of the Lady Cougars’ better scorers, to 3-of-16 shooting (19 percent) from two-point range and 0-of-1 from beyond the arc.

The Payson “D” also forced the Lady Cougars into committing a whopping 32 turnovers. The Lady Horns were credited with 12 steals.

Payson returns to action today, Jan. 13 at Mingus and on Jan. 17 visits Blue Ridge for yet another D-III, S-III skirmish.