Any jitters the Boyd Lady Broncos felt about entering the Middle Tennessee Athletic Conference as the undefeated No. 1 seed were gone by halftime Thursday night at J.K. Stanley Gymnasium.
After a slow start against the Western Kentucky Trailblazers, the Lady Broncos found their groove in the second quarter and never looked back. Behind a big night from Claire LeDuc, Boyd cruised to a 66-43 victory.
Boyd, which finished the regular season with a 14-0 MTAC record, seemed to have trouble in the early going against the Trailblazers.
The Lady Broncos never fell behind, leading from start to finish, but Western Kentucky hung within one most of the first quarter as Sarah Peters scored all eight of her team’s points.
By the time seniors Marisa Hillis and Ashley Newby scored late in the period for Boyd, the Lady Broncos had established a 13-8 advantage.
Then eighth-grader Rhiannon Hoover emerged from the bench to spark her team. Hoover, known for her strong shooting touch, was the Lady Broncos’ main facilitator to start the second quarter. Hoover found Hillis and Rachel Campbell for layups, pushing the lead to nine.
Hoover then got an open look from the right wing, which she buried to give the Lady Broncos a double-digit lead they would never relinquish. By the time Newby added her own 3-pointer from the same spot, Boyd led 30-16.
LeDuc took over the final minute of the first half, getting two steals that led to layups that pushed the lead to 34-16 at halftime.
LeDuc kept up her hot shooting when the second half began. LeDuc scored six points out of the gate to help Boyd push its advantage over 20. Hillis added five points in the period and eighth-grader Ashley Kiefer sank a 3-pointer as Boyd went into the fourth quarter leading 54-31.
Senior Bailey Gilliam and eighth-grader MacKinzie Pistole put the finishing touches on the Trailblazers with three points each in the final period. Boyd would go on to win by 23, moving it into the semifinals of the MTAC tournament.
LeDuc led 11 Boyd scorers with 14 points. Hillis added 11 while Hoover finished with nine. Hannah Homan scored a game-high 19 points for Western Kentucky, followed by Peters with 17.
The MTAC tournament continued Saturday with games being played at Currey Ingram High School. Results were unavailable at press time. Check Wednesday’s Southern Standard for more details.