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Three-pointers key victory

By Carey Phillips
Smoky Mountain used terrific outside shooting to blast Franklin 63-32 Monday at Franklin.

Nichole Jones scored 16 points and Tara Green had 13 as they combined to nail seven treys. Lindsey Lewis added 10 points helping the Lady Mustangs improve to 19-1 overall and 10-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.

"We had a great defensive effort," Coach Cindi Simmons said. "We worked very hard on the boards against a much bigger Franklin squad. Tara and Nichole both shot very well from the outside when given the opportunity. I was pleased with our overall team performance. We played very well on Franklin's home court."

It was SM's first win at the Panther Den since 1996.

Chrystal Tallent led the Lady Panthers with eight points.

The Lady Mustangs led from start to finish after scoring the game's first nine points with less than two and a half minutes elapsed.

Franklin's best run was six straight points, including four by Tallent, cutting the gap to 9-6 at the 4:05 mark.

SM responded with nine unanswered points to go up 18-6 on Elexis Smith's fast break layup with 1:52 to play. The margin was 18-11 at the quarter break.

A pair of three-pointers by Green early in the second half built the lead to 25-11 with 6:36 on the clock.

Lewis had the last six points of an 11-2 run for a 36-16 advantage with 26 seconds left in the half. SM led 36-18 at intermission.

Both teams struggled offensively in the third stanza. Green's layup at the 6:15 mark put the Lady Mustangs up 41-18. They went almost four minutes before scoring again and didn't have another field goal until time expired in the period.

Meanwhile, Franklin didn't score the first 5:20 of the quarter.

A long three-pointer by Jones gave SM a 46-23 lead entering the fourth period.

Christy Pruett capped a string of nine straight points making it 59-28 with 2:07 to play. The game's biggest margin was 63-30 on two free throws by Kaitlin Ritchie with 25.9 seconds on the clock.

Ritchie was seeing her first action since breaking a bone in her hand on Jan. 18. She had missed four games.

Four of Jones' five field goals were three-pointers, and she made two free throws. Green hit five field goals, including three treys. Lewis made two field goals and six foul shots.

Nathalie Broom finished with eight points, Ritchie followed with six, Smith scored four and Pruett, Cassie Proffitt and Abi Woody all had two.

Franklin won the JV game 65-43. The Lady Panthers led at quarter breaks by scores of 10-6, 29-15 and 51-34.

Ashley Holmes and Katie Crisp both had 10 points for SM (7-12).

"We just didn't have the steam to keep up with them," Coach Heather Broom said. "Every turnover we had they scored off of. I was pleased with our effort. They're just a good ballclub."

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