By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Brighton Lady Cardinal Shayna Johnson looks for an open teammate during an offensive set last week against Briarcrest.
The Briarcrest Lady Saints traveled to Brighton last week to take on the Lady Cardinals. Briarcrest used a combination of size and experience to pull away from the youthful Brighton squad 71-35 in the Brighton Gymnasium. Things started good for Brighton on Jan. 21 when freshman guard Dianelle Collins drove into the lane for a layup drawing a foul. Collins three-point play made the early score 3-0. The Lady Saints had a quick answer with a three-pointer from Elise Holden. Her teammate Jasmine Cincore gave Briarcrest the lead with a bucket. Holden scored Briarcrest’s next 4 points to make the Lady Saints’ advantage 9-3. Briarcrest’s other Holden, Brynn, hit a jumper making the tally 11-3. Brighton’s Shayna Johnson ended her team’s drought taking an inbound pass from Lilly Hill for a layup. The Lady Saints would outscore Brighton 12-5 the rest of the first quarter to lead 23-10. Cincore made the score 20-8 with her own three-point play. Despite points from Lady Cardinals like Johnson, Collins and Bailee Beard, the Lady Saints won the second quarter 16-10 to take a 19-point lead into the locker room. Elise Holden and Cincore used defense to create scoring opportunities in the third quarter. The Lady Saints used traps and pressure on the Brighton point guards to force turnovers building a 58-27 lead after three quarters.
Briarcrest closed out the game outscoring the Lady Cardinals 13-8 to earn the road victory.
