The Clinton County Lady Bulldogs were on a roll last week, winning two games in a row while competing in the John Hardin Invitational.

Clinton County defeated Henry County by a final score of 41-38.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Thurman 16

Beard 9

Stalcup 8

J. Boils 4

M. Campbell 4

During the second game of the tournament, Clinton County defeated Fern Creek by a final of 46-38.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Thurman 22

Stalcup 8

Beard 9

Elmore 4

M. Campbell 2

J. Boils 1

Clinton County played in the championship game of the John Hardin Invitational on Wednesday night and the Lady Dawgs took on the host team, John Hardin High School.

The Lady Dawgs fought hard, but couldn’t seal the deal as Clinton County lost the contest, 47-31.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Beard 9

Stalcup 8

Thurman 6

Elmore 4

Lowhorn 2

J. Boils 2

Head Coach Darrell Thompson was pleased with his team’s results during the past week and hopes to continue that success this week as the team travels to Greenwood High School for the Greenwood Holiday Classic.

“We are starting to execute better and we are getting in the right spots,” Thompson said. “We are taking care of the ball better. The effort is there. They practiced as hard when they were 0-6 as they do when they have won two games.”

One of Clinton County’s weaknesses this season is putting the ball in the basket. Thompson said he thinks the team is going to have to step it up on defense to compete with other teams.

“We really struggle making shots,” Thompson said. “In the Henry County game, we started scoring off our defense and that was the difference in that game.”

Thompson said the key to continued success is forcing more turnovers on their defense.

“What we are going to have to do is generate more of our offense through our defense,” Thompson said. “We have to force turnovers and pick up some easy stuff. That’s what we did during the Henry County game and somewhat during the Fern Creek game.”

Clinton County didn’t shoot well from the floor, but the team is getting enough shots per game. Thompson said they are going to have to put up a better percentage this coming week at Greenwood.

“We did a little better job executing and getting shots out of the offense. If you look at the season stats, that’s where we have been struggling … our shooting. We get plenty of shots up, but when you shoot 21 percent you are going to struggle scoring.”

Thompson also said his team is going to have to get better at shooting free throws.

“I think in the two games we won, we hit more free throws than our opponents shot, but we are shooting it at about 60 percent. We would like it to be up there around 70 percent,” Thompson said. “We were 11 of 18 against John Hardin. I think they were 18-25, so that kind of puts you behind the cue ball.”

Holiday tournaments can be tough, especially if a team has to play more than one game per day.

“Surprisingly it looked like we were a little winded on Friday. Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games were close so I think the adrenaline played a factor, but we started showing signs of fatigue on Friday,” Thompson said.

Clinton County opened up the tournament against Greenwood on Tuesday and will play the second game on Wednesday against South Warren. The Lady Dawgs will play again on Thursday, taking on Edmonson County.

Depending on the outcome of the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday games will determine what time Clinton County will play on Friday.

“We are hoping to get a couple more wins and maybe that will carry our momentum into the second round of district play as well as the All ‘A’ coming in January,” Thompson said. “I think they are starting to see that their hard work is paying off.