Lady Trojans make statement in win over Crockett County




Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports


With seeding in the upcoming District 13-3A on the line as well as the regular season district tile, the Lady Trojans avenged their only loss in district play this season, more than doubling up the Lady Cavaliers for a 49-22 win on Tuesday night in the Terry Glover Gymnasium.

“We came out better prepared this time,” Dyersburg Head Coach Tim Strayhorn said. “We’ve been working on getting a better start to the game.

“We started about four or five games out really slow and digging a hole. So, I had to do a better job as a coach getting us prepared and ready to play the game.”

Though the Lady Cavaliers were able to put some points on the board early in the first quarter, junior Chelby Jordan had an eight-point first frame to go along with three-pointers from Kay Kay Strayhorn and Aerie Quinn to take a 15-8 lead after one frame.

The Dyersburg defense picked up the pace in the second quarter, holding the Lady Cavaliers to just one point during the final eight minutes of the first half. In the meantime, the Lady Trojans got seven points from Cincinnati signee Joya Crawford - with Bearcat Head Coach Katrina Merriweather in attendance - as well as four from Jordan to take a commanding 26-9 lead at the half.

Dyersburg's defense continued to stifle the Lady Cavaliers in the third quarter, limiting Crockett County to just two points in the opening quarter of the second half. On the other end of the court, the Lady Trojans got four buckets from Crawford as well as five by Kalli Maclin to build a 44-11 lead heading into the fourth quarter.


Strayhorn credited swapping defenses as the season wears on as a factor in the defensive toughness of the Lady Trojans.

“As the season has gone on, we’ve been getting out of the zone,” Strayhorn explained. “I know we’re going to have to start guarding man to man.

“We’ve been working on it and we get better each and every day with it. We sit down and we guarded them in it. We just about knew everything they were going to run tonight so we were well prepared.”

This is the same tactic the Lady Trojans employed last season during their run to the TSSAA Class 3A State Championship.

“We played a lot of of zone early but we’ve shifted to man because I knew to win it all we’re going to have to guard some of those teams to win the state tournament,” Strayhorn added.

From there, the Lady Trojans cruised to the district victory to avenge their only 13-3A loss.

Crawford lead the way for the Lady Trojans with 19 points while Jordan added 18 in the win.

The Lady Trojans return to action on Friday when Dyersburg travels down the road to take on Dyer County in another District 13-3A match up.

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