Cavaliers smother Indians, win SCOL opener

• Chillicothe won its conference opener Tuesday night, 46-25, over Hillsboro.
• Shawnee Smith led the way with 16 points while Osh Brown posted a doubled-double with 14 and 13.

CHILLICOTHE - With a dose of dominating defense, Chillicothe's girls basketball team had no problems Tuesday night.

The Cavaliers smothered Hillsboro at Chillicothe's Hatton Memorial Gymnasium in their 2015-16 conference opener by a final of 46-25.

"Defense is our staple and it's what we try to hang our hat on," Chillicothe coach Pat Beard said. "We work very hard in practice in understanding how to control an offensive player, make them shoot tough shots and then box out. Our focus this year is to limit teams to one shot per possession. We feel if we can do that, we increase our chances of winning tremendously."

Even with a strong defensive performance, there's always things to work on, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

While Chillicothe (2-0, 1-0 South Central Ohio League) nearly doubled up its opponent, it was a far cry from the 71 points they scored in its season opening win over Logan Elm.

"We got easier looks to the basket," Beard said. "But we just didn't make them fall tonight. You have those days where they just don't go the way you want them to. But the thing I'm most proud of is our effort. So far, in our first two games, our effort has been there. Our girls are all over the floor and they're doing what I ask them to do. We just have to get a little better offensively."

Behind junior center Osh Brown and sophomore forward Shawnee Smith, the Cavaliers jumped out to a 6-0 lead with 3:00 remaining in the first quarter. That advantage would grow to 10-1 at the end of the first and 21-10 at halftime.

"Osh and Shawnee are going to be our go-to players offensively," Beard said. "We're going to design plays to run through them and to get them easy baskets. I thought we did well in doing that and in our transition today. We just couldn't capitalize."

When the second half began, it was more of the same as the Cavaliers took leads of 28-12 and 30-15 before seizing a 38-19 edge heading into the fourth.

In the final eight minutes, Chillicothe outscored the Indians 8-6 to seal the 46-25 win.

Coupled with defense, size was also a key component in the victory as Brown, Smith and senior Jasmine Jordan played well off the glass.

"That's another emphasis this year," Beard said. "We're doing the job on the glass and we have to continue to do that. If we can eliminate the offensive threat and push the ball up the floor, nine times out of ten we'll get an easy basket."

Smith finished with 16 points and eight rebounds while Brown posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards. Jordan added 10 points, five rebounds and two assists. Also contributing to the win was Shawntel Smith, who scored just four points, but played a solid game defensively.

For Hillsboro (0-2, 0-1 SCOL), Madison Snyder led the way with seven points while Riley Moberly added five.

The Cavaliers will next be in action Friday night, on the road, against Ironton.

"Ironton is a different animal," Beard said. "We're going to go down there and play hard. We schedule these tough games to prepare us for later in the season and a potential tournament run. We're going to go down there, embrace the atmosphere and play hard."

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509