A fast start and a strong inside game was the recipe for success for the Lady Commandos on Tuesday night as they traveled to Gallatin and came away with a 48-32 win in 9-AAA play.

The Lady Commandos led 13-4 after the first quarter of play and never looked back. They were able to complete the season sweep over their county rival with the win.

“I think the girls really worked hard tonight,” said Hendersonville head coach Amy Wilhite. “The girls did a good job of feeding the post and even though we were a little slow out of the gate offensively, we held our composure and continued to battle.”

Emily Hatfield led the way offensively for the Lady Commandos. The sophomore finished with a game high 22 points and was really able to spark the offense down low in the paint.

“We really needed the win,” said Hatfield. “The guards really did a good job all night taking care of the ball and we were able to do some things downlow and also started hitting some shots from three-point land.”

The Gallatin girls got some good looks at the basket early on, penetrating the Lady Commando defense time after time, but the shots just were not able to fall.

“That has been the case so often this season,” said Gallatin head coach Kim Kendrick. “We get good looks and drive to the basket, but so many times we are just unable to finish.”

The Lady Wave was led in scoring by sophomore Sydney Rice, who finished with eight points. Freshman Aleria Duncan tossed in seven points and senior Casey Milan had six.

After leading by nine points headed into the second quarter, things were a little more nip and tuck in quarter number two.

The Lady Commandos outscored the home team 12-10 in the quarter. Leading by eight points with under a minute to go until the break, Emma Svedin scored the final five points of the half, including a layup just before the buzzer to give Hendersonville a 25-14 lead headed into the locker room at the midway point.

The third quarter was the Emily Hatfield show. The sophomore scored nine of her teams eleven points as the Lady Commandos increased their lead to 36-20 after three quarters of play.

Each team scored 12 points in the final quarter to close out the game.

“I think in the second half, we took a lot of quick shots,” said Wilhite “We rushed some offensively, but overall anytime you can come on the road and get a win, especially against a Gallatin team that has improved, you have to be pleased with that.”

Taylor Wright, Courtney Glover and Emma Svedin each had six points in the win to pace the Lady Commando attack.

By Ethan Greer