Cedar Bluff lost one of their key contributors in senior forward Hannah Leach early in the first quarter with a gash to her forehead. She was sent to a local hospital after the cut would not stop bleeding.
Carpenter kept waiting for someone else to step in and help fill her shoes, but by the time that finally begun to happen, the 10th-ranked Lady Panthers had already run away with a big lead en route to a 58-43 victory.
"Knowledge minus action equals nothing," said Carpenter, whose team dropped to 4-4 (0-1 Class 1A, Area 10). "We already know what we do, and if you add production to it, then we can be successful. Until we can do that on a consistent basis, we're going to struggle."
Collinsville (6-1, 1-0 area) established both its inside and outside presence, and it proved to be Cedar Bluff's undoing. Christy Cox led the Lady Panthers with 20 points and nine rebounds. Kiana Ford added 14 points and 10 boards. Sydney Jones finished with six points. All three players connected on a pair of 3-pointers in the game.
"Any time somebody's playing a zone and you can hit two or three of them, that opens up the high-low post," Collinsville coach Jon Tidmore said. "I was really proud we hit some outside shots."
Added Carpenter: "We're well aware they're going to shoot them. We've got to cover them and we know that, but I'm not taking anything away from them. They played a heck of a ball game and they deserved to win."
Cox's performance was all the more impressive because she also received a small cut over her left eye on the play Leach was injured. The two players were going after a loose ball in the first quarter and collided with each other.
Cox's cut was bandaged and she quickly returned to action.
"It was a little smaller (cut), but she was able to shake it off and play," Tidmore said. "If she had as bad a cut as Leach did, then it's tough for both teams. I thought she played a good, mental game with that kind of nagging her."
Collinsville held a 14-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter, but blew things open in the second to take a 32-13 lead at halftime. The Lady Panthers led 51-24 after three quarters.
Cedar Bluff went on a 19-7 run in the fourth, but it was too little, too late.
"We've got to play in the moment, and we're not playing in the moment," Carpenter said. "We're waiting and waiting on somebody else to step up. There's five of them out there, and they've got to step up. I thought the second half we played a whole lot better. We challenged them to do what we ask them to do. If they'll come back and do that and communicate on the court, then we've got a shot, but at some point, they've got to take ownership of our team."
Audrianna Hargitt led the Lady Tigers with 14 points and four steals. Katie McGinnis added 10 points, eight boards and four steals. Lexi Moten finished with eight points and four steals.
Brittney Tidmore tallied five points, five rebounds and five assists for the Lady Panthers. Savannah Boyles also finished with five points.
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