Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Lady Devils Falter

It was like being mugged while walking across an open field.

Gurdon's Lady Devils were assaulted 73-49 by Prescott's Wolverettes Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the season opener for both teams.

The Lady Devils made the short trip to Prescott expecting a typical Gurdon-Prescott war, with the game being decided in the final minutes.

Didn't happen. The Wolverettes jumped out to an early lead and pounded on Gurdon's girls unmercifully.

In fact, Prescott held a double-digit lead before one of the Lady Devils finally nailed a three-point shot for their only basket of the period.

Still, the first quarter ended with Prescott ahead 18-3. Gurdon's situation didn't improve in the second period as the Wolverettes continued the assault and went to the lockers at intermission with a 45-17 lead.

The mauling resumed in the third frame as the Wolverettes posted a 60-29 advantage and held on for the win.

Alicia Clayborn led the Lady Devils with 20 points, while Tameka Hatley contributed 13, including a trio of three pointers.

The Lady Devils shot well from the free throw line, converting nine of 14 attempts, while Prescott was 10 of 17 from the stripe.

The Wolverette attack was led by Traci Graham's 22, while Andrea Cossey netted 20, with three treys. Stacy Stockton added another 11 to the insult.

"We didn't play good defense," said Lady Devil Coach Sandra Hatley. "We got timid and uneasy. We couldn't shoot."

However, Hatley said wherever the first game between these two long-time rivals is played they don't play well.

"They had us down early and we couldn't recover," she said. In addition, Clayborn had an injured ankle and didn't start because Hatley didn't want to further injure it.

Still, Hatley isn't concerned because this was the first game of the season and not a conference game.

"We had a lot of turnovers and lacked confidence," she said. "But I told them we need to take this game and use it as a learning experience."