Hixson girls’ basketball coach Matthew Smith noted that in the past, a game against the Lady Wildcats was treated like a homecoming game. This year’s team is trying to shed that label.
Behind freshman Ciara Taylor’s 33 points, the Lady Wildcats defeated Central 46-42 in overtime Friday for the team’s second win of the early season, a total that tops the output from the three previous seasons for a program that lost 74 straight games and 82 of 83 in that span.
“Everybody loved when Hixson came to play,” said Smith, who teaches at East Ridge. “These girls are trying to get the history off their shoulders.”
In Friday’s game, Hixson rallied from a 14-point deficit going into the final quarter to gain its first road win since a 32-31 win over Notre Dame on Jan. 13, 2006. Smith praised the play of Taylor, who had a 3-pointer and scored 17 of her points from the free-throw line.
“It wasn’t just her, though,” he said. “The returning players bought into what we’ve been trying to do; some of their roles have changed, and losing like they have in past years could make it tough to want to come back out. I’m pleased with the team’s hard work.”