At halftime of his team’s opening game Monday in the Best of Preps Tournament, Baylor girls’ basketball coach John Gibson implored somebody, anybody to step up and become a factor.
With scrappy Marion County holding a two-point lead and holding leading scorer Amber Howard to three points, the former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga point guard and assistant coach knew his team needed a boost.
He got it from Gracey Porter, who scored six points on three short-range jumpers, and Katelyn Armstrong, who added four points, as the Lady Red Raiders dominated the third period on the way to a 42-37 win.
They will play Chattanooga Christian tonight at 7 in the tournament semifinals. Marion County will face Cleveland in a consolation game at 1.
“The key was having some people step up and make plays, and Gracey and Katelyn were very aggressive in the third period,” Gibson said. “When a team is working hard to stop your No. 1 option, somebody else must take up the slack. Also, with us, when we play better defense we get better offensive execution, and we did that after halftime.”