JuToreyia Willis has been listening to her coach.
Baylor girls’ basketall coach John Gibson has been instructing her to get her right elbow in a little and follow through properly instead of flicking her wrist to the outside when she shoots.
The practice paid off Saturday in the Lady Raiders’ 78-33 whipping of Soddy-Daisy in an opening-round game of the Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament.
“My shot feels good because a majority of them are going in,” said Willis, who hit three 3-pointers and scored 14 points against the Lady Trojans.
Baylor senior Kaleigh Clemons – the three-time MVP of this tournament – started on her path to a fourth MVP trophy with six 3s and 35 points despite not playing the final nine minutes.
“We shot it well,” said Gibson, whose team hit 11 3-pointers in the first half. “When the shots go in, they feel good about themselves.”
The good feelings transferred over to the Lady Raiders’ defensive effort as well. They forced Soddy-Daisy (4-8) into at least 25 turnovers in the game, which had a running clock in the fourth quarter. Alexis Trimiar led Soddy-Daisy with 10 points.
“That wasn’t a whole lot of fun,” Soddy-Daisy coach Drew Lyness said. “I told the girls that I loved them and we get a chance to play better on Monday.
“We came out cold, Baylor came out hot and it snowballed.”
Baylor led 21-8 after the first quarter, then 54-17 at halftime, which allowed Gibson to rest his vocal cords as he continues to recover from an illness.
“I can’t tell you how much better I feel,” Gibson said. “I didn’t have to scream too much today.”
Baylor (8-4) will face Meigs County on Monday at at 7 p.m. in a semifinal game. Soddy-Daisy will face Central at 1.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484.