Lady Cougars Benefit from Balanced Attack

Balanced scoring has been a key for the Piedmont Academy varsity girls basketball team.

The Lady Cougars defeated Strong Rock 70-33 in a home game last week as three players finished in double figures and 11 registered points.

We played a pretty complete game against Strong Rock,” coach Michael Wilson said. “Maddie Waddleton had her best game of the year with 15 rebounds and five steals to go along with her points.”

Marissa Holder paced Piedmont with 17 points while Hannah Tyler added 16 and Waddleton finished with 14.

“Offensively, we are shooting the ball really well,” Wilson said. “I think it’s a combination of moving the ball well. The girls being ready to shoot when it comes their way and teams focusing on Marissa. We saw a box-and-1 the whole game and she was able to get 17 points and the rest of the team contributed. She facilitates really well, she’s going to find the open player.”

Holder is averaging more than eight assists a game since Christmas.

“I understand why teams focus on her, but I think it’s a mistake on their part because it leaves so many other good shooters in open space,” her coach said. “Last Thursday it was Maddie and Hanna. Our next game it’s likely to be one of four or five others. Hannah shoots so well everyday in practice that it was just a matter of time. Maddie has struggled with her shot a little and we’ve been working on it and the last couple of games she’s come back into form. She’s as dangerous a player from 15-feet as anyone we play.”

Teagan Satterfield and Bailey Mobley both scored six points in the win while Abby Arnold added three.

“I think it is a disservice to our team to focus solely on Holder’s scoring because that’s not where she is the biggest threat,” Wilson said. “She can score, but along with her assists, she also had eight steals and eight rebounds. Teams would be better served to game plan against her on the defensive side than to try and keep her from scoring.”

The Lady Cougars are averaging 60 points per game since Christmas.

“We have a lot of weapons,” Wilson said. “We’ve done it against some good teams as well. Moving forward we need to continue to be unselfish on offense, take what the defense gives us and stay patient and confident. Having the ability to score 60-70 points per game in girls high school basketball is really tough for most teams to handle. When we face teams down the road who can match that, we have to stick with the recipe we’ve used for success and the points will come.”

Bailey Mobley (two), Teagan Hinson (two), MaLynne Webb (two), Emily Mcwen (one) and Kylee Keck (one) also contributed offensively.

Defense has also been a key to the team’s success.

“We created 40 turnovers with our defensive pressure,” Wilson said. “We want to dictate the other teams offensive tempo every game. It’s no secret, we want to speed up our opponents and cause them to take a shot quicker or to make a bad pass because they are doing things faster than they want. It’s the same formula we’ve used since I have been at Piedmont.

The Lady Cougars earned a 72-60 win against Ola High School in McDonough. Holder scored 33 points while Keck and Satterfield both added 12. Waddleton finished with six points.

Piedmont recorded a 57-18 road region win Tuesday against LaGrange Academy. The win improved the team to 17-6 overall.

The Lady Cougars will close out the regular season Friday against St. George’s at home beginning at 6 p.m.