Lady Birds win showdown with Palmyra

PALMYRA - By neutralizing Palmyra's biggest weapon, the South Shelby Lady Birds were able to post a 61-47 win over the Lady Panthers on Friday night.PALMYRA - By neutralizing Palmyra's biggest weapon, the South Shelby Lady Birds were able to post a 61-47 win over the Lady Panthers on Friday night.

South Shelby's Cody Chinn showed why she was chosen as the Clarence Cannon Conference's player of the year last season, scoring a game-high 21 points. But Chinn's performance was as much about her defense as it was offense. She was able to limit Palmyra's leading scorer, Nicole Myers, to just six points in the first three periods.

"We have a lot going for us," said Chinn. "This was a really big game for us so we had to try and outplay them."

"We ran this defense just for them," said South Shelby coach Kent O'Laughlin. "It was something I was pleased with the girls for because it was kind of confusing for them. I thought they did a good job of adjusting."

A 'good job' may be understating the fact as South Shelby (18-1) forced the Lady Panthers (14-6) into 14 first-half turnovers and turned an 11-9 lead late in the first period into a 34-19 halftime lead. The Lady Birds' offense was successful at turning many of those turnovers into transition points that didn't allow the 6-foot-1-inch Myers or 6-foot Amelia Keller to get in position defensively. O'Laughlin attributed his team's ability to create turnovers to staying active on defense.

"We like to move and we like to, what we call it, 'keep feet hot' - act like you're playing on coals," O'Laughlin said. "They do a good job of that. If we don't just get in a hurry we're okay. Every once in a while we'll get in a hurry and try to jam something in and that's what usually costs us."

South Shelby's Meredith Rash scored 14 of her 15 points in the first half, while Myers was held to just two, as the Lady Birds were able to limit the amount of times she touched the ball offensively.

"We wanted to contain her and put enough pressure on the guards that they couldn't get good looks at the basket," said O'Laughlin. "We couldn't let her have one of those 25-30 point nights. For three quarters, I think we did a super job of containing her. In the fourth quarter we switched to man and that's when she started getting her points."

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As the second half began, Palmyra would mount several charges on offense. The Lady Panthers would get within nine of South Shelby in the opening minute and a half of play in the third and within eight in the game's final three minutes of play. But each time, the Lady Birds had an answer to Palmyra's rallies.

"We try to tell them not to focus on the score - you let the coaches worry about the score and you play and take care of what's going on on the floor," O'Laughlin said.

Palmyra's fourth quarter rally came when Myers put the team on her shoulders and scored 10 of the Lady Panthers 16 points in the final eight minutes.

Even though Chinn comes in three inches shorter than Myers, her coach talked about the traits that set her apart from other post players in the area.

"She has a different type of game that a lot of these other tall bodies," said O'Laughlin. "She has pretty decent feet and she's not afraid to move her man away from the basket and then make a move. I thought she did a good job of that tonight and it opened up things for our guards too, because she was moving Nicole away from the basket."