You could view Tuesday's game against Richland "Decision Tuesday" for the Carroll Lady Dragons (16-9, 8-1). The week began with Carroll, Richland and Keller tied for the lead in District 4-5A in girls basketball.
But someone was going to fall out when coach Teri Morrison's team and the Lady Rebels met at Carroll on Tuesday.Carroll carried a seven-game winning streak into the contest as the regular season entered the final weeks. Without a doubt, the Lady Dragons are playing their best basketball. Of course, the lone district loss was a 49-46 decision at Richland. Richland led 25-16 at the intermission and held off a Carroll charge in the second half.The Lady Dragons have a very favorable schedule with them for the remainder of the season. They play host to Keller next Tuesday.Of course, they nearly were driven into third place this past Friday against pesky Keller Timber Creek. The Lady Dragons needed to rally in the fourth quarter. They outscored, the Lady Falcons, 12-9, to survive, 41-40. The win marked the first time Carroll has won when it has finished scored in the 40s. The Lady Dragons were 0-7 in that category.Leonard getting hotSophomore point guard Kennedy Leonard is really starting to make Carroll's offense much more dynamic and difficult to defend.While Carroll is always going to shoot a bunch of three-pointers, Leonard's scoring and ball distribution make her equally dangerous.She's averaging 12 points per game during Carroll's winning streak. That's just a tick higher than her season average at 11.9. Leonard is averaging 6.2 assists per game. So let's break that down just a little bit more.During the Lady Dragons' streak, Leonard has 29 made field goals and 45 assists. That means that she's been directly tied to 74 baskets for an offense that likes a volume approach. That's 6.4 assists and 4.1 field goals per game.By doing this, Leonard automatically impacts the opposing coach's defensive gameplan. Teams just can't line up and not respect her offensive game. They have to deny her ability to create and score. That's going to free somebody up on the floor. That means Kami Mickens gets more looks, along with Gretchen Morrison.Stat checkThe season has five games remaining and shooting specialist Gretchen Morrison is still at 50 percent in her three-point field goal attempts. She began the week 61-of-121 (50.4). That's a really good number this deep. She has attempted nearly 25 percent of the ballclub's 3-pointers.Carroll's defense continues to make steady progress. With a philosophy that favors a heavy amount of possessions, Morrison's defense needs to create offense. Carroll is forcing 15 turnovers per game but is also creating 16 deflections. Deflections don't get enough attention, because they can lead to the opposing player into a self-induced turnover or stop the momentum of the offense.The Lady Dragons continue to improve in shooting. They are shooting 42 percent on 2-point baskets and 35 percent on 3-point baskets. Carroll is still shooting about 62 percent on free throws.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
