BELL BUCKLE — The Cascade Lady Champions (1-9) struggled to produce much offensively in the first half against a Lincoln County Lady Falcons (10-1) team that was firing on all cylinders, and the halftime deficit proved to be too much as the Lady Champions were defeated 55-29.
“We knew coming in that Lincoln County was going to be a tough team. They are very quick and skilled,” Lady Champions head coach Janie Demonbreum said.
“We started out flat and didn’t have enough energy and that hurt us.”
Lincoln County jumped out to a double-digit lead early in the first quarter by going on an 11-0 run after Kaegan Young knocked down a free throw for Cascade inside the first minute.
Young later put two more free throws in the net for the Lady Champions only points in the quarter.
She led the Lady Champions with 11 on the night.
The Lady Falcons continued to play an uptempo pace of play throughout the second quarter which caused problems for the Lady Champions on both ends of the floor, and led to a 41-9 advantage at the break.
Six of their seven three-pointers came in the first half.
Cascade’s first made field goal of the game came at the three minute and 50 second mark of the second quarter when Sophie Ray scored from inside the paint.
Ray added two free throws later in the frame and combined with Young as the only scorers in the first half for the Lady Champions.
After Demonbreum urged her squad to play with more energy and purpose with the ball in the second half, the Lady Champions were able to move the ball on the offensive end and put points on the board.
“In the first half, we were just standing and not attacking like we should have been,” Demobreum said.
“I told them at halftime that if they weren’t going to dribble with a purpose, then I was going to take their dribble away. We started working it inside better in the second half, and Suzanna Crews was able to work down low.”
Crews worked in the paint and drew fouls throughout the second half which led to six points on nine shots at the free throw line.
Kaydence Miller knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Lady Champions to 14 point total to close out the game.
With over a week off before playing in the Riverdale Christmas Classic, Demonbreum and the Lady Champions are going to focus on their chemistry on and off the court.
“This break is massively important for us,” Demonbreum said. “Our spirits are down a little bit right now, so this gives us the chance to go back to the drawing board and focus more on our fundamentals.”
“It’s also time for us to be together as a team in ways we can’t when school is in session. We’re going to have some team bonding and come together ready for the second half of the season.”
The Riverdale Christmas Classic will take place December 27-29 at Riverdale High School.
Game times are to be announced at a later date.

Lincoln Co. 19 22 8 5 — 55
Cascade 3 6 6 14 — 29

Cascade: Kaegan Young 11, Suzanna Crews 6, Kaydence Miller 6, Sophie Ray 4, Annabelle Calvert 2.
Lincoln Co.: Anna Kate Cooper 10, Molly Brown 8, Alyssa Petty 8, Abby Bryan 7, Grasen Tipps 6, Gracey Flynn 4, Rilee Smith 4, Reagan Bragg 3, Mattie Graham 3, Brynna Stubblefield 2.
3-point goals: Cascade (2): Miller 2; Lincoln Co.: (7): Bragg, Brown, Bryan, Cooper, Flynn, Graham, Petty.
Halftime score: Lincoln Co. 41, Cascade 9.