The Ellis girl’s basketball team wasn’t in much of a giving mood Monday night, in fact the Lady Cougars just kept taking all game, forcing over 30 turnovers in their 44-17 victory over rival Hawkins in the Middle School tournament quarterfinals.

“This was the best game we’ve played in well over a week,” said Ellis Coach Jim Lind. “I think they showed that they came out ready to play tonight.

“Our defense was stifling, and offensively we played pretty well; needless to say I was pleased with the outcome.”

Ellis (15-0) created 21 turnovers in the first half, and 12 more in the second half to coast to the 27 point victory.

“We knew coming in that (Ellis) was going to come at us with a lot of pressure with their full court press,” said Hawkins Coach Rick Sampson. “We talked about going to the ball and about spacing, but we didn’t execute very well tonight, and when you don’t execute perfectly against a team like Ellis this is what happens.”

The Cougars were led by Joslyn Jarrett with 16 points, and Sophie Kolbe added 10 more points in the win.

The Lady Commandos didn’t have a player in double figures, but Kelsey Senn was the closest, finishing with seven points in the loss.

Ellis jumped out to an early lead behind Jarrett’s nine points, and Elizabeth Burns added four more points from the post, but it was the Lady Cougars defense that really stood out, only allowing two points in the first quarter to go out to an 18-2 lead.

The Ellis defense didn’t let up in the second quarter as the Lady Cougars again held Hawkins to only two second period points, but their offense also kept pace again behind Jarrett and Burns, who combined for nine points to outscore the Lady Commandos 13-2 and take a 31-4 lead at the halftime break.

Kolbe took over in the scoring column, leading the Lady Cougars with six points, but with the sizeable lead Ellis substituted and Hawkins took advantage and nearly doubled their first half output in one quarter, however, the Lady Cougars still outscored the Lady Commandos 11-7 to all but put the game away 42-11 heading into the final period.

Lind called off the dogs in the fourth quarter as Ellis only scored two points, both off of free throws, and Senn scored five of her seven points in the final period to help the Lady Commandos outscore the Lady Cougars 6-2, but still lost 44-17.

“With us everything starts with our defense,” said Lind. “We haven’t been focused the past few games, but I knew the girls were ready when I saw the way they were approaching our shoot around and then in the locker room before the game.

“We were ready, and I think we played hard all night; I just hope it carries over for at least two more games.”

Ellis will play in the semifinals Thursday night with an opponent yet to be determined at press time.

HAWKINS (17) – Kelsey Senn 7, Samantha Boatman 3, Savannah Littlejohn 2, Ashelyn Nichols 2, Leah Lamberth 2, Jessica Long 1.

ELLIS (44) – Joslyn Jarrett 16, Sophie Kolbe 10, Elizabeth Burns 8, Carleigh Short 3, Peyton Sheehan 3, Madi Crawford 2, Jada Cambell 2.

Three-pointers: HMS (1) – Senn 1. EMS (1) – Short 1.

by Chris Lynn