The Signal Mountain high school girls' basketball team closed its first week of the season at 2-0 after its 47-37 home win Thursday night over Sequatchie County as part of the annual TSSAA Hall of Fame Game series.
But it's a long season, and Lady Eagles coach Kendra Bell want to see more from her team.
The visiting Lady Indians, who were playing their opener, found a nice rhythm on offense in the opening quarter by breaking down Signal Mountain's 2-3 zone defense and getting to the basket for layups. Sequatchie County's penetration coupled with poor shooting on the other end by the Lady Eagles kept the game deadlocked throughout the first half.
With a two-point lead to begin the second half, Signal Mountain turned to sophomore center Olivia Koontz for momentum, and she delivered by scoring the Lady Eagles' first five points of the quarter and making her presence known in the post on the defensive end. Koontz's second-half start paired with a made free throw from Jaylah Hardy and a 3-point basket from Jolie McGann pushed Signal Mountain's lead to nine points late in the third quarter.
"We played better in the third quarter to break away a little bit, but it was tough for us because Sequatchie is one of those tough teams that likes to get after you," Bell said.
"I didn't think we played too well tonight. I was pretty disappointed with the overall effort from us. We're coming off a big win over Bledsoe County on Tuesday night, but now we have to learn how to play back-to-back (games).
The Lady Eagles' first basket of the fourth quarter marked the largest lead of the game at 17 points before an Ella Edgmon 3-pointer gave Sequatchie County some momentum to close the gap before the final buzzer.
Signal Mountain's Hardy scored a game-high 14 points, while Koontz was right behind with 13.
The Lady Indians were led offensively by Edgmon, who finished with 10 points. Rileigh Belk was next in line with eight.
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com.