Ella Anthis
It was earlier on Tuesday afternoon when Columbus East girls basketball assistant coach Britney Ballard found out she was going to be filling in for Kaitlyn Phillips as coach.
Phillips took a sick day Tuesday, which meant she couldn’t be at the game, so the former Olympian star stepped up and picked up the win against South Decatur 60-29.
Ballard played for East from 2014-18 and was on the Olympians’ last sectional championship team in 2018.
“I had to shift my head from assistant coach to head coach, so it was a little adjustment,” Ballard said. “Going into it, we already had our game plan, and so I did the scouting for South Decatur anyway, so I knew what we needed to do and execute, and the girls took it. They ran with it. They did great tonight.”
That they did. The Olympians (3-4) jumped out to a 20-3 lead after the first quarter. The Cougars (5-3) had a quick spurt in the second half, but the early deficit was way too big to overcome.
With the win Tuesday, East surpasses its win total from last year only seven games into the season. With a strong freshman class, mixed in with several experienced upperclassmen, the Olympians should add more wins to its total.
“Our transition offense was really good. I think that boosted us up a little bit,” East senior Ella Anthis said. “Overall, I think we played our best game tonight. I’m pretty proud of our team.”
While Anthis finished with the game-high 15 points, two freshmen teammates, who returned from illness and injury Tuesday, also had double-digit efforts. Hayden Meek poured in 14 points, and Allison Halstead added 10.
“It was fun. It was good from the kickoff, and we played how we should play,” Meek said.
Senior point guard Kenzie Cheek missed Tuesday’s game while still in concussion protocol after banging her head in Friday’s loss to Mooresville. She is likely to return to the lineup Dec. 2 against Trinity Lutheran.
Raegan Benge led South Decatur with 12 points. Dalilah Martin added 10.
Columbus East 60, South Decatur 29
South Decatur;3;8;8;9;—;29
Columbus East;20;12;18;10;—;60
South Decatur (5-3): Lilly Murray 0 0-0 0, Brynklie Ortman 0 1-2 1, Skylar AmRhein 1 0-0 2, Jocelynne Collins 0 0-0 0, Lyndsey Shireman 0 0-0 0, Sophia Wittkamper 0 0-0 0, Riley Benge 2 0-0 4, Dalilah Martin 4 0-0 10, Raegan Benge 2 8-17 12. Totals: 9 9-19 29.
Columbus East (3-4): Lola Watkins 2 0-0 4, Ella Anthis 6 0-0 15, Emma Armstrong 0 0-0 0, Krea Martin 3 0-2 6, Allison Halstead 4 0-0 10, Hayden Meek 7 0-2 14, Lycy Ross 0 0-0 0, Brelyn Pool 2 0-0 5, Bailey Rhode 1 0-0 2, London Cline 2 0-0 4. Totals: 27 0-4 60.
3-point goals: South Decatur 2 (Martin 2). Columbus East 6 (Anthis 2, Halstead 2, Pool).
