Lady Raiders fall to Russell County in opener

By Steve LeMaster
stevelemastersports@yahoo.com

RUSSELL SPRINGS – McCreary Central’s 2017-18 season opener on the road at Russell County ended with a loss. Host Russell County pulled away to defeat the Lady Raiders 79-35 in a girls’ high school basketball season opener on Tuesday night.
Russell County shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) from the field, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
The Lady Lakers were 14-of-20 (70 percent) from the free throw line.
Russell County featured four scorers in double figures. Leading the Lady Lakers to the win, Haley Southerland scored a game-high 17 points.
A total of 11 different Lady Lakers broke into the scoring column. Accompanying Southerland in double figures for Russell, County, Jaylen Elmore scored 15 points, Addison Loy 11 points and Madelyn Preston 10 points.
Elmore paced Russell inside, securing a team-best six rebounds.
The Lady Raiders found themselves limited throughout the early-season matchup. Visiting McCrreary Central faced a deficit at the conclusion of each quarter.
Individual statistics for the Lady Raiders were unavailable at press time and will appear in next week’s edition.
McCreary Central is scheduled to host Corbin in a home opener at 6 p.m. on Saturday.