Smith, Lady Blue Devils handle Biggersville to stay unbeaten

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Dec. 5—BALDWYN — Ava Kate Smith is the daughter of Booneville head coach Michael Smith, so basketball is in her blood.

That's how she knows the little things make the difference on the court. The freshman guard did that and more to help the No. 10 Lady Blue Devils (7-0) take down No. 4 Biggersville 49-41 on Saturday at the Doc Vandiver Classic.

Smith totaled nine points, but the 5-foot-5 guard grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds in the win.

"I just wanted to help my team in any way I could," said Ava Kate. "I knew they had a big girl, and I knew we're not that big. Every time I didn't get blocked out, I knew I had to go get the rebound."

Nine of Smith's rebounds came on the offensive glass. Those offensive boards kept several possessions alive in the first half, allowing Booneville to continue to fire up 3-point shots.

And then they started falling.

Booneville built a 30-18 halftime lead by knocking down seven treys. The Lady Blue Devils connected for 10 of 28 (35.7%) for the game, most of that coming from the Johnson sisters, who transferred in from Ingomar over the summer.

Freshman Kylee Johnson was 4 of 7 from deep, while sophomore Kaylee Johnson was 4 of 13. Both led with 14 points apiece.

"It's put a lot of pressure on people to guard you. It makes them come out and spread out," said Michael Smith.

Biggersville (4-1) struggled mightily in the turnover department. Entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions had committed 24 turnovers and taken just 21 shots. They finished the game with 31 turnovers as they're adjusting to playing without last year's leading scorer Goldee Butler, who is out with a lower leg injury.

"We just didn't take care of the ball but at the end of the day you still have to play hard, and we didn't do that at times today," said Biggersville head coach Cliff Little.

Asia Stafford totaled 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Lions, who shot 33% from the field.

Three-Pointers

Turning Point: Booneville opened the game with four different players hitting a 3-pointer to build a 15-3 lead and never looked back.

Point Maker: Kylee Johnson shot 55.5% from the field for her 14 points.

Talking Point: "I think it was one of the best games we've played in a long time defensively, to be able to pressure like that." — Michael Smith

dillon.barnes@journalinc.com