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RICHMOND -- Edison girls basketball coach Mark Smyth wanted his team get as many shots up as possible against Heartland Christian.
The Wildcats did just that against the Lions, and thanks to a 25-7 run in the second half, Edison was able to pull away for a 77-64 victory Wednesday night at home.
"Honestly, our strategy was to get the ball in the air," Smyth said. "We wanted them to shoot the ball. When you shoot well, it is a good, but when you don't shoot well, it is not good. We got hot there. We wanted them to get the ball in the air. The girls listened to what we wanted them to do."
Edison improves to 10-8. Heartland is 8-6.
The Lions tallied the first 14 points of the third quarter to knot the score at 40. The Wildcats scored their first point of the quarter on a foul shot with 4:03 left and that was the start of a 17-3 spurt to end the quarter enabling the victors to regain their 14-point advantage heading into the fourth.
"They got back to their pressure," Heartland Christian coach Scott Libb said. "We went away from what we did to get the game back to a tie. Their defense got us out of what we wanted to do. They trapped at the sides. They made it difficult to pass out of it. We did not do a good job of handling it, and they were able to go down and get some easy shots."
The Wildcats built a 65-47 lead in the fourth. The Lions got as close as 11 points the rest of the way.
"Our girls played really hard," Smyth said. "We wanted to play with energy. We upped the pressure. The girls did a really good job with it, and we were able to get some easy baskets. The girls listened, and they played hard."
The Wildcats got off to a slow start offensively in the third as the team went more than three minutes without scoring a point. The hosts did not convert from long range, and the Lions were able to take advantage of the team's scoring drought.
"We took care of the ball on every possession," Libb said. "We looked in the middle. We valued each possession, and we were able to get some easy shots. We got hot."
The girls in purple were able to turn their 40-26 deficit at halftime into a tie ballgame near the midway point of the third.
"Their bigs did a really good job," Smyth said. "They dumped the ball down, and they were able to use their size. They have two girls who are 6-feet, and they were able to get the ball into their hands and they made shots. Their coach does a good job, and they used their strengths."
After struggling from beyond the arc in the third, the Wildcats drained 3-of-4 from long distance at the end of the third and into the early part of the fourth to gain control. Edison made nine 3-pointers on the night, while Heartland Christian made six.
Four players produced double digits in points for the Wildcats. Sophia Henderson netted a team-high 23 points to lead the way, while Rebecka Evans contributed 15, Abigail Boka 14 and Kylie Stull 11.
Sarah Reynolds scored a game-high 28 points for the Lions, Rachel Reynolds added 14 and Emily McDowell 12.
The home team started off well as the were able to build a 19-14 lead at the end of the first.
"This is our eighth time playing them since I have been the coach," Smyth said. "Before we started playing them, I didn't know where Heartland Christian was or what they were about. I'm sure they didn't know where we were or what we were about.
"The first year, teams were losing games due to COVID. Teams were losing games, and they had to try and find games to pick up so they could play. It was like the wild west.
"We were able to get together with their previous coach, and he was a really nice guys as well. They were a similar team. We beat them by two at the buzzer.
"They are going to be joining the OVAC next year. We are happy about that. We are going to be able to continue to play Heartland Christian. We like playing them."
The hosts had a big second quarter as they outscored the Lions, 21-12, in the stanza to build a 14-point advantage at halftime.
"I know their coach and his assistant," Libb said. "We are going to be joining their league next year. We are going to be joining the OVAC, so we will be able to continue to play them twice a year.
"We know each other. They are well coached. It is enjoyable playing them. They are well coached."
It was nice to get back on the winning side of things as Edison had lost two out of its last three games coming into Wednesday's game.
The victory enabled Edison to earn a split in the season series. Heartland Christian defeated Edison, 58-49, Dec. 27 at home.
"Not really," Libb said asked if Edison did anything different in the second game as compared to the first. "They made more shots. We were able to win the game in the third and fourth quarter. We made more shots up there. We missed 15-20 shots in the first half."
A rough second half doomed the Wildcats in the first meeting, however, Edison was able to pull away in Game 2 thanks to a strong second-half performance.
"A lot of it was the same game," Smyth said. "We played faster today. We did a lot of the same stuff.
"In the first game, we just got too conservative too early. We were up by four or six at halftime, and we ended up losing by nine. We got too conservative up there.
"Tonight, it was the opposite. We pushed the tempo, and we were able to get shots up."
The Lions will be looking to add to their school record win total at Bristol on Saturday.
"Eight wins is a school record," Libb said. "The record means the girls have bought in to basketball the last two or three years. They have bought in to what I have been preaching. We play as a team.
"I know one girl had 28 points tonight, but I am blessed to have a good group of girls. They get excited when the other girls score. As a coach, you really like to see that. It is nice to see that. We are a small Christian school."
HC: 14-12-17-21--64
E: 19-21-17-20--77
HEARTLAND CHRISTIAN SCORING: Elise Allmond 0 0-0 0, Rachel Reynolds 6 2-4 14, Maddie Neville 1 0-0 2, Jenna Duda 0 0-0 0, Sarah Reynolds 11 3-7 28, Unger 0 0-0 0, Emily Lightly 0 0-0 0, Makenzie Lightly 1 0-0 3, Emily McDowell 4 2-4 12, Rylee Shadowens 2 1-2 5. TOTALS: 25, 8-17: 64.
EDISON SCORING: Summers 0 0-0 0, Pelley 0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Stull 5 0-1 11, Carpenter 2 0-0 4, Henderson 7 7-7 23, Meadows 3 0-0 8, Evans 6 1-2 15, Koehnlein 0 0-0 0, LoPrete 0 0-0 0, Board 0 0-0 0, Shepherd 1 0-0 2, Boka 5 2-5 14, Nicholson 0 0-0 0, Wright 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 29, 10-15: 77.
Three-point goals: Heartland Christian 6 (S. Reynolds 3, McDowell 2, Lightly); Edison 9 (Henderson 2, Meadows 2, Evans 2, Boka 2, Stull).