Cornersville Middle School forward Gabby King turned in a royally good performance on Tuesday night, as she poured in a career high 25 points to help lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 38-14 road victory over Columbia Academy.

Despite getting off to a somewhat sluggish start, the Lady Bulldogs (2-1) held a 20-11 lead in the first half before outscoring CA 18-3 over the final two quarters to cruise to the 24-point victory.

Into the paint

Cornersville pounded the ball into the paint the entire evening and finished with 16 field goals on 44 percent shooting while attempting only one three-pointer and outscoring Columbia Academy 6-1 at the foul line. The Lady Bulldogs also controlled the boards and outrebounded CA 27-10 overall, which included a 13-5 edge on the offensive glass.

"Our game plan is to get the ball into the paint and dominate the post. I've talked to the girls a lot about shot selection," said CMS coach Peyton Newton.

Columbia Academy (1-4) simply had no answer for King, as the talented eighth grader knocked down 10-of-15 field goal attempts, grabbed nine rebounds, and recorded seven steals despite sitting out nearly the entire fourth quarter.

Defensive points

"Anytime someone scores 25 points in a middle school game that speaks for itself. It seemed like a lot of her points came from her defense. She was able to make some steals and score in transition," said Newton.

Sarah Beth Prosser followed King with nine points and three steals, while Sydney Wilson and Bethany Fitzgerald chipped in two points apiece with Wilson notching five steals. Payton Salsman failed to score but helped Cornersville's cause by registering three assists and three steals.

Scout Speer paced CA with five points, while Kayla Gibson tallied three points. Morgan Hutchins, Baylee Thornton, and Brittany Adair each had two points for Columbia Academy as well.

CA inched out to an early 2-0 lead on a layup by Thornton before the Lady Bulldogs outscored Columbia 6-2 over the next 2:40 with the help of layups from Wilson, Prosser, and King to pull ahead 6-4 midway through the first quarter.

Secure lead

After Gibson hit a short jumper to tie the game at 6-6, Cornersville reeled off six points thanks to a Prosser layup and a pair of offensive put backs by King to seize a 12-6 lead early in the second quarter.

CA tallied five of the next eight points to narrow the gap to 15-11 midway through the second period, but King scored the final five points of the half on an offensive put back, a free throw, and a pull up jumper to stake the Lady Bulldogs to a 20-11 advantage at the break.

Cornersville then blew the game open by putting together a 14-2 run in the third quarter behind 12 points from King and a Prosser layup to forge a 34-13 lead.

In the fourth, the Lady Bulldogs outscored Columbia Academy 4-1 in the period thanks to baskets from Prosser and Fitzgerald to cap their 38-14 win.