FORDYCE – White Hall coach Mike Upshaw had a lot to say about the last two minutes of the first quarter, and with good reason. Upshaw’s Lady Bulldogs overcame a slow start to cruise to a 55-38 victory over Fordyce in the championship game of the Fordyce Bank and Trust tournament at Bryant Arena.
White Hall (3-1) started sluggish against Fordyce’s full-court defense. The Lady Redbugs weren’t having similar problems early on, breaking down White Hall’s own full-court defense and scoring off layups and free throws.
Fordyce entered the tournament as one of the youngest teams participating, with three ninth-graders in Coach Ronald Smead’s rotation. But the Lady Redbugs had played well throughout the week, and initially seemed unfazed, going up 10-4 on the Lady Bulldogs.
Then came a 8-0 run to end the first quarter, six of those points coming off Fordyce turnovers.
“I thought that with 2 minutes to go in the first quarter, we got some turnovers and we converted those turnovers into layups,” Upshaw said. “Then I felt like we had a real good second quarter, and we carried it into the second half.”.
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Indeed, White Hall limited Fordyce to seven points in the second quarter and established a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.
The victory, and the championship that came with it, is a good early indicator for the Lady Bulldogs, who had played one game before the tournament.
“I think our energy, our effort and our intensity was better,” Upshaw said. “We still had trouble finishing plays and making free throws down the stretch, and I think we’ve got some payers who know they can play better.”
Shanice Murry led White Hall with 19 points. Lakitta Grandy had 14 points to lead Fordyce.