Abby Mitchell, Sky Holmes Lead Pine Tree Past Whitehouse, 39-25

PINE TREE --   Behind the duo of Abby Mitchell and Sky Holmes, the Pine Tree Lady Pirates defeated the Whitehouse LadyCats 39-25 at the Pirate Center on Monday.

Mitchell had a game-high 13 points to go along with five steals and three assists. Holmes, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, added 10 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and three blocks.

As a team, Pine Tree collected 13 steals to aide a great defensive performance.

"I thought we got after it on defense," said Pine Tree coach Robin Herber. "We hustled, blocked out, and did the little things so I was pleased with that side of the floor."

Pine Tree came out aggressive early with six quick points off dribble-drives to the paint. They held a 9-2 advantage after the first period thanks to Mitchell's five points, including 1 of 3 from three-point range.

"(Mitchell) is very basketball savvy. She's a fierce competitor and runs this offense well," Herber said. "(Holmes) is just a sophomore, so the sky's the limit with her."

Whitehouse's Ashton Ates scored four second-quarter points to help Whitehouse cut its deficit to 20-10 at halftime,  but that's as close as the Lady Cats got.

Pine Tree pushed the lead to 29-15 late in the third period behind Mackenzie Richardson's four points and three boards and led 29-17 after three quarters. Richardson finished with four points, four rebounds, and three steals.

"I told the girls that I wanted my kids back," said Whitehouse coach Rosalyn Tindel. "The ones I saw tonight weren't my kids that fight. It's the first time I've ever seen my girls take blows and punches, and not fight back. I know it's early in the season, but I told them I want my players back. I wouldn't trade the 10 of them for the world. It's my third year, so I have my system in, and my expectations are a lot higher than they are used to."

Ates finished with a team-high seven points for Whitehouse.

Both teams are on the road Tuesday with Pine Tree traveling to Pittsburg and Whitehouse visiting Bullard.

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Pine Tree 39, Whitehouse 25
Pirate Center, Longview

Whitehouse -- 2 8 7 8 -- 25
Pine Tree -- 9 11 9 10 -- 39