Kennett girls basketball beats Sikeston in first outing at new gym

The Kennett Lady Indians won handily the inaugural game played in the school district's recently-opened FEMA building safe room and gymnasium Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. To mark the occasion on the shiny new court, Kennett took down Sikeston 79-49.

Kennett's top shot of the night and the first player to officially score on the court, freshman Alyce Edwards, put her signature on the game ball to be displayed to commemorate the occasion. Edwards put up 23 points in total, of which 12 came in the first quarter.

Edwards put in a layup to start the contest and kept rolling. Along with sophomore E'Marriha Johnson and her trio of three-pointers in the first quarter alone, Kennett jumped out to a 21-0 lead before Sikeston sophomore Marlie Crook put up the Bulldogs' first points of the night. Immediately to follow, though, Johnson answered it with another of her three from far.

“I thought we did pretty good,” Kennett head coach Erika Cobb said. “Our intensity was kind of down, but it was a good win. We got several girls involved offensively. Our posts were wide open a lot on offense, and we were able to get our heads up and share the basketball.”

Kennett sophomore E'Marriha Johnson attempts a three-point shot in a game against Sikeston Monday, Jan. 29.Photo by Christian Johnson

Not to be dissuaded by the deficit and being outmanned – as Sikeston only had six players available Monday evening – Bulldog junior Landri Hammontree closed out the quarter with one of her four three-pointers of the night.

Hammontree finished the night the high scorer of the game despite the loss. She racked up 29 points, excelling in shooting beyond the arc, and she also shot 11/14 from the free throw line.

“We talked about who they were and needing to get out there,” Cobb said of Sikeston's shooters. “They hit more than I would prefer, but they did a good job shooting. I told them to stay on the floor, don't jump up for the shot fakes and just play defense right.”

Up 31-5 after one, Kennett's traction held but Sikeston slowly began to even the field before halftime. Hammontree added another seven points before the break, but Kennett's Tayja Carter and Johnson still outpaced the visitors. Carter put up 10 points almost consecutively and Kennett ended up ahead 49-17 at halftime.

Sikeston did not falter, and the Bulldogs chipped away at the first half hole in the third quarter, primarily through feeding Hammontree and her free throw sharp shooting. Sikeston outscored the hosts 21-10 in the third quarter and limited the Indians' offense at the same time.

Sikeston junior Landri Hammontree makes a dash for the basket at Kennett on Monday, Jan. 19. Photo by Christian Johnson

Sikeston had cut the gap to 20 points and hovered around that margin until midway through the last period. With an even 63-43 margin, Christi Tejeda pulled in an offensive rebound and managed the layup to kickstart a run for the end. It was cut short by a short two-point play by Marlie Crook but Edwards added another three-pointer right after to retain momentum, eventually leading the Indians to a 30-point win.

“I feel like we're in a good spot,” Cobb said. “We just need to bring it more defensively. They drove right past us a lot, and we've got to do a better job communicating on defense.”

While the first-year Indian coach maintains that the defense is a work in progress, Kennett shot 13 for 14 at the free throw line and has so far decreased their opponents' average points per game and increased their own.

After Edwards' 23 points, Johnson scored 21, Carter scored 18, and Tejeda scored 10. For Sikeston, after Hammontree's 29, Kennedi Sims scored eight, Crook scored six and Alex Segers added five.

Kennett (15-4), and inching closer to beating last years' 18-win season, next hosts Greenville Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Sikeston plays Ballard County on Monday, Feb. 5.