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Lindsey Lewis, Tara Green spark Lady Mustangs to win at Franklin
Christy Pruett

Christy Pruett (21) puts up a shot for Smoky Mountain against Franklin's defense in last week's 67-46 victory.

Herald photo by Carey Phillips 		Lindsey Lewis scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds while Tara Green had 20 points, six assists and five steals leading Smoky Mountain to a 67-46 Western Athletic Conference victory at Franklin on Jan. 2

Sandy Tabor led the Lady Panthers with 16 points, and Stephanie Robbins had 10.

"It's always nice to win at Franklin," Coach Cindi Simmons said. "I was pleased with how we came out and played with a lot of intensity. Our defense was consistent all night, and we had times when our offense really clicked."

Back-to-back baskets gave the Lady Mustangs (9-3, 3-0) the lead for good at 8-4 with 2:20 to play in the first quarter. Green followed with a three-pointer, and Melissa Collins had a steal and layup for a 13-4 advantage at the 1:50 mark completing a 9-0 run.

SM led 14-7 at the quarter break.

Lewis and Kaitlin Ritchie both had four points as the Lady Mustangs outscored Franklin 12-2 to open the second period. Elexis Smith capped the run making it 26-9 with 3:34 on the clock.

The Lady Panthers turned things around with a 9-1 spurt cutting the gap to 27-18 on Megan Brown's three-pointer with 11 seconds left.

Green scored at the buzzer for a 29-18 halftime lead.

SM broke the game open with a 14-2 run, including six by Green, to start the second half upping the margin to 43-20 with 4:30 on the clock. Nathalie Broom and Ritchie had three-pointers in the spurt.

The Lady Mustangs were up 50-26 entering the fourth quarter after five late points by Lewis. The closest Franklin came the rest of the way was 52-33 on a Robbins three-pointer at the 6:23 mark.

Green had five points and Lewis four in a 9-2 run building the lead to 61-35 with 4:29 on the clock.

The biggest margin was 67-37 on a fast break layup by Green with 2:46 remaining.

Ritchie had eight rebounds and handed out seven assists. Smith finished with nine boards and five assists.

Lewis made 10 of 16 field goals and a free throw. Green was nine of 16 from the floor, including two three-pointers.

Ritchie netted nine points, Broom followed with six, Smith and Pruett both scored four, Collins had two and Courtney Bryson made a free throw.

The Lady Mustangs shot 40.3 percent from the floor.

The SM JVs fell to 4-4 with a 45-35 loss. Franklin led at quarter breaks by scores of 16-6, 25-17 and 33-31.

Tasha Grant had 12 points for the Lady Mustangs.

"They played well," Coach Tonya Kenyon said. "They just made one too many mistakes."

She said SM started in a man-to-man defense and fell behind by 10 early. A switch to a zone helped the Lady Mustangs get within two heading into the fourth period.

Back to Sports: 01/11/01.