Darnell, Ervin combine for 50 points in Lady Devils shootout win over Lady Maroons

FLATWOODS — There's no place like home.

On Saturday, the Russell Lady Devils suffered a tough loss on the road at Spring Valley and fell victim to some cold-shooting, scoring just 40 points in the game.

Fast-forward to Monday, and the Lady Devils piled in the points, to the tune of an 86-73 shootout win over the Pulaski County Lady Maroons at Marvin Meredith Gymnasium.

The scoring barrage marks the third time this season that Russell has put up 70 points or more in a game, with two of those coming at home.

Russell coach Mandy Layne was all praise after the game with both Kennedy Darnell and Lily Ervin, who combined for close to two-thirds of the teams' points.

"Ervin just played with a lot of confidence today. She hasn't played in two years. So, for her to come back and play like she did and hitting some shots early helped her," said Layne. "Then Darnell is one of the best players in our region and she had some really nice drives and she played a heck of a game."

All five of the starters for the Lady Devils reached double figures in scoring, with both Darnell and Ervin leading the way.

Darnell finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 assists. Ervin registered a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The other three scorers were Kamryn Fleming with 14 points and 8 boards. Kenley Kouns had 12 points and grabbed 6 boards. Gabby Oborne netted 10 points and 5 assists.

After the game, Darnell felt that her success was in part to her teammates and their ability to move the ball to get her open.

"We were moving the ball well today, so it helped me to get more open and I was playing a little bit stronger. It's been a little bit rough lately, so this helped me a lot."

The Lady Maroons were paced by a pair of scorers. Point guard Madeline Butcher had a game-high 29 points, 3 boards and a pair of steals. In the paint, Brooklyn Thomas finished with a double-double, earning 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Russell came out firing on all cylinders in the first, with Darnell scoring 8 points and Kouns putting in 6 points to give the Lady Devils a 22-17 advantage after the opening frame.

Butcher scored 9 to lead the Lady Maroons in the first.

Pulaski (6-2) cut the lead down to 3 following a steal by Cook and forwarded a pass to Butcher for a layup just a minute into the second.

However, Russell (5-2) responded with 7 points in a 27 second span, featuring a pair of free throws from Darnell, then Ervin buried a 3-pointer from the win and finally Darnell drove the length of the court for a layup to make it 29-19.

Butcher continued to find the bottom of the net and help the Lady Maroons claw back with a pair of treys and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 36-all with 1:33 remaining before halftime.

In the third, Pulaski cut Russell's lead to just 51-49 after Caroline Heist kicked a pass out to Lilee Todd in the corner for a triple with 4:02 remaining.

However, the momentum would swing back in Russell's favor close out the final minutes of the third.

Darnell would start things off with 8-straight points - with one of those scores being a steal for a layup - then Fleming scored underneath on a feed from Ervin, and finally Ervin got a 3-ball to bank its way into the net to give the Lady Devils a 68-58 lead going into the final quarter.

The momentum shift started in the huddle during a timeout after Pulaski had made their run.

"Coach told us to pretty much keep our heads, just keep playing how we were," said Darnell. "I knew we were playing well, we just kept playing and kept shooting and pressing the ball, we would be fine."

Russell outscored the Lady Maroons 18-15 in the final quarter, getting 7 points from Fleming and 4 from Oborne to lead the way.

A key play in the quarter came around the five minute mark, when Ervin found Fleming wide open underneath for the layup and drew the foul for an old-fashioned 3-point play to put Russell ahead 73-61.

"We let one go on Saturday at Spring Valley. It was a tough, physical game. So to see our confidence build and finally see the ball go through the net, that can mess with you a little. But it's really encouraging as we go to Tennessee next week."

The Lady Devils will head south after the Christmas break for three games in Gatlinburg, Tenn., with the first game coming on Monday against Fairview, Alabama.

Before the game, Oborne was honored in front of the home crowd for scoring her 1,000th point on Saturday. The senior guard hit the mark on her first basket of the game..

Pulaski County 17   21   20   15  =  73

Russell 22  22   24   18  =  86

PULASKI COUNTY (6-2): Scarlett Anderson 0 0 0-0 0, Bella Stevens 0 0 3-4 3, Rilee Ross 0 0 0-0 0, Caroline Heist 2 0 1-2 5, Lilee Todd 1 1 0-0 5, Brooklyn Thomas 7 0 4-5 18, Madeline Butcher 4 4 9-11 29, Malia Bullock 0 0 0-0 0, Hannah Murray 1 2 0-0 8, Gracyn Cook 2 0 0-0 4. Totals: 16 8 9-11 73. Rebounds: (O-9, D-14) 23. (Thomas 13, Butcher 3, H. Murray 3). Assists: 9 (Heist 3). Steals: 5 (Butcher 2). Blocks: 2 (Cook, Todd). Fouls 19. Fouled out: None.

RUSSELL (5-2): Lily Ervin 7 3 0-0 23, Prezley Price 0 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Walker 7 2 7-9 27, Gabby Oborne 1 2 2-2 10, Myla Troxler 0 0 0-0 0, Mila Wheeler 0 0 0-0 0, Kenley Kouns 3 1 3-4 12, Kamryn Fleming 4 0 6-9 14. Totals: 22 8 18-24 86. Rebounds: (O-14, D-18) 32. (Ervin13, Fleming 9, Darnell 5, Kouns 4). Assists: 9 (Oborne 5, Darnell 2). Steals: 12 (Darnell 6, Ervin 3). Blocks: 5 (Fleming 4, Kouns). Fouls 15. Fouled out: None.