First-round MHSAA basketball can be underwhelming and lopsided at times.
Like on Monday night.
Laurel (15-15) snuffed out Long Beach (3-24) 63-24 Monday night in the first round of the Class 5A Girls’ Playoffs.
"It took us a minute [to get going]," said Lady Tornadoes head coach Sherri Cooley. "Sometimes, you wonder about your team playing down. Long Beach is a young team, and Coach [Chris] Odom is a first-year girl's head coach, so he said his team's been struggling a bit.
"But I still want my girls to come out with intensity because we still have to get ready for the next opponent."
Laurel's next opponent will be rival Wayne County. The two teams meet on the hardwood Friday night in the second-round playoff action. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
"They're good," said Cooley. "We've played them twice already. They beat us over at their place, and we beat them here in overtime. They're a fundamental team. They'll do exactly what Coach [Gina] Shelton wants them to do. They'll run the floor, box out, and rebound. I can't say it enough; they're a fundamental team. They have a girl on the inside that we had a hard time containing in both games that we played them."
Senior India Singleton and junior Zoey Cooley led the Lady Braves with 15 points apiece Monday night. Manaca Keyes finished in double-digits as well with 10.
Laurel did significant damage to Long Beach in the eight minutes after the halftime break, outscoring the Lady Bearcats 20-0.
"What I saw in the third period is what I like to see from my girls," Cooley said. "I want to see our defense pick up because that's what we'll need going into Friday night against Wayne County."
