Dripping Springs Lady Tiger basketball team remains undefeated (9-0) in 25-5A and improved to 23-7 on the season Friday after a 65-35 blowout victory at home over the Crockett Lady Cougars (13-17).
Elite defense from the Lady Tigers was the key to victory said Dripping Springs head coach David Norris.
“I thought the team did a great job of suffocating them on defense when we pressed them,” Norris said. “They didn’t have very many subs, so our game plan was to get them up and down the floor.”
Dripping Springs full court press-zone defense forced 34 turnovers in the game, and a whopping 22 turnovers in the first half which sparked the Lady Tigers 44-16 lead by halftime. Understanding the defensive rotations has been a key component to the Lady Tigers defensive success.
“We had a strategy on our press and it worked,” Norris said. “Our half-court defense, you know the zones that we run and then we mix them up. They’ve been on point with making the adjustments and really doing some good solid work, and rebounding also.”
The Lady Tigers offense was able to capitalize on Crockett’s turnovers by scoring a bevy of fast break points, while also hitting 45.5% (10-22) from 3-point range.
“That’s something we do a lot, everywhere I’ve coached we’ve led the district, or conference when I was a college coach, in three-point shooting,” Norris said. “We work on it a lot. We spot up, you know all five girls. We make them comfortable shooting and we shoot a lot of them.”
Junior point guard Corbyn Davis was the leader on the court for Dripping Springs as she had 20 points, five steals and four assists, including four made shots from beyond the arc in the first half.
“Right now Corbyn has just been that glue (on offense),” Norris said. “Losing Kennedy Donovan at the point guard when she really came on strong at the end of last year, we were like okay who is going to be our point. Corbyn has come in and fit right in.”
In addition to Davis’ offensive output, senior forwards Kline Stafford and Avery Johnson also made a big impact for Dripping Springs. Both Stafford and Johnson had eight points each, with Johnson also contributing five rebounds and one block.
Junior forward Ani Villarrubia led Crockett with 14 points, seven rebounds and one block. Senior forward Kaia Skeete-Pierre was also a key contributor for the Lady Cougars as she had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
For Dripping Springs this marks its eighth win in a row, with all wins coming by at least 30+ points. During that stretch the Lady Tigers defense hasn’t given up more than 35 points in a game, while the Dripping Springs offense has averaged 60.5 points per game.
“Our girls have a goal to be undefeated in district and be a district champion back-to-back again,” Norris said. “Each practice they come in ready to work. They come in at 6:30 in the morning and they got their hard hats on ready for practice. It's been really pleasing to just see that drive in them and trying to go for their goals.”
Dripping Springs hosts Lockhart Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.
