High-scoring juniors Kaleigh Clemons and Aryn Sanders headlined the opening game of the Best of Preps high school basketball tournament Friday morning.
Neither point guard disappointed, but Clemons' balanced and deep Baylor team pulled away for a 61-33 win over Sanders and Signal Mountain at Chattanooga State.
"That's a good basketball team," Signal coach Kendra Bell said of Baylor (8-1). "We normally like to press and run, but we tried to change some things and slow it down, and I thought we did a good job of that in the first half."
Even when the Lady Eagles stayed within striking distance as Sanders and Brooke Whitmore scored 19 of Signal's 23 first-half points, Clemons and a bevy of her Baylor teammates always had an answer.
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Cornerstone Pub - Special Olympics Fundraiser
Crowds filled tables and the bar at Cornerstone Pub Thursday during a fundraising event for Special Olympics.
Clemons scored 14 of her game-high 19 points in the first half, but it was her passing that caught Baylor coach John Gibson's attention.
"Kaleigh played as well as she ever has since she's been here, because she really shared the ball," Gibson said of his junior point guard, who added six assists and five steals. "When we're moving the ball like that, we are tough to stop."
With Clemons pacing play even as Signal tried to slow things down, Baylor's depth allowed the Lady Red Raiders to seize control.
"They wanted to slow it down and shorten the game, and we were able to do a better job in the second half," Gibson said. "I've never had a team like this. We have 12 on the team, and all 12 can play."
Nine Baylor players scored, and six had assists., and relentless pressure highlighted a man-to-man defense that covered all 94 feet of the Chattanooga State floor.
There simply were no easy looks for Signal, which scored four points -- all on free throws -- in the decisive first 11 minutes of the second half before Sanders' corner 3. By then, Baylor's margin had swelled from seven points at the intermission to 20 early in the fourth quarter. The Baylor defense created six second-half steals and jumpstarted some easy transition baskets.
Baylor junior Abby Hubbert matched Signal's total after the break, getting 10 of her 12 points in the second half to lead the fast finish for the Lady Red Raiders.
Baylor also got 10 points and four assists from sophomore Mya Long and will face Notre Dame in a Best of Preps semifinal today at 4 p.m.
Sanders finished with 14 points and Whitmire had 10 for Signal (8-4). The Lady Eagles will play Tyner at 10 a.m.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.