The Italy Lady Gladiators improved their record to 10-3 with a 50-34 victory or the Axtell Lady Longhorns at home in the dome Tuesday night. Freshman Emmy Cunningham led Italy with 30 points.

Both teams got off to a slow start on offense, but battled it out on defense. At the end of the first quarter, Italy had a slight lead 12-8. Great defense by Cunningham, Taleyia Wilson and Lillie Perry were key to the win.

In the second quarter, Axtell turned up the heat on offense and tied the score at 20 with 2:16 left on the clock with a jumper from Tucker. The half ended 20-20.

The teams traded the lead in the third quarter until Kortnei Johnson hit a lay up to tie the score at 24. Axtell’s Reed added 2 to give the Lady Longhorns a 26-24 lead. This lead was short lived when Cory Chance hit a lay up to tie the game at 26 with 4:40 on the clock. A lay up by Cunningham gave Italy a 2 point lead. K’Breona Davis stole the ball from a Lady Longhorn and drove down court and hit a lay up to give Italy a 34-26 lead. The Lady Gladiators played hard and never relinquished the lead. The 3rd quarter ended with Italy on top 37-26.

Italy’s defense stayed strong and held Axtell to only 8 points in the final quarter. The offense kept the pressure on by feeding the ball to Chance under the goal. She scored 6 points in the final quarter. Italy’s 13 final quarter points sealed the game.

“Our defense won the game for us tonight,” said Coach Melissa Fullmer. “We played good team ball. I am proud of our improvements this year. It is my third year to coach the Lady Gladiator basketball team and our maturity has helped us this year. I am very proud of our girls.”

Scoring for Italy

Emmy Cunningham – 30
Cory Chance – 10
Kortnei Johnson – 8
K’Breona Davis – 2

Scoring for Axtell

Harrman – 12
Reed – 6
Doyle – 5
Tucker – 4
Hand – 3
Stevenson – 2
Sauters – 2