Viqueen coach Cody Pierce wants his team to be known as a defensive juggernaut.
With a defensive mindset, it was a lockdown effort in the first quarter on Friday night at Cascade (2-17, 0-4) that allowed the Purple and Gold to race out to an 11-0 lead.
After holding Cascade scoreless through the first five minutes of regulation, the Viqueens were able to stretch that momentum through all four quarters in a 60-36 victory.
“We’re a defensive-first team. It helps get going on offense a lot of the time. We hang our hat on defense. We try to hold teams under 40 points every night,” Pierce said.
Knowing the Viqueens had a decisive size advantage, Pierce directed his squad to work an inside-out scheme, which helped Community (16-7, 4-0) establish control of the game’s momentum in the first half.
“They always play tough defense. They had a big fourth quarter that really hurt us. They’re so physical and are a lot bigger than we are. We struggle offensively going against that,” Lady Champion coach Kendall Hampton said.
The one-two punch of Haley Mitchell and M.J. Simmons in the first quarter combined for 11 of the Viqueens’ 16 first-quarter points.
“We’re an inside-out offense. They (Cascade) forced us to shoot a lot of outside shots. We struggled to hit them at times, but we finally got the ball inside a few times and then hit a few shots outside in the second half,” Pierce said.
Trailing 26-14 at the half, Cascade adjusted well in the third quarter and took off on a 7-2 run to open the quarter.
That run saw the Lady Champs cut the Viqueen lead to seven points a the 5:16 point of the third quarter when Caroline Stone hit a shot and drew the foul.
She connected on the free throw to complete the three-point play.
But after that, Community was able to work its inside offense and with Simmons banking six in the paint, it was Zoey Dixon who started heating up from the arc.
Community closed the game with a 20-point effort in the fourth quarter, highlighted by another pair of triples by Dixon.
The Viqueens connected on seven treys in the contest, with four coming courtesy of Dixon.
she, along with Simmons, led all scorers with 16 points apiece, while Haley Mitchell chipped in 12.
Makenna Lamb, Lani Jones and Caroline Stone each scored seven points to lead the Lady Champs.
“Things that fall for us against other teams don’t with this team (Community) because of their size. We did a better job of adjusting to them, we just have to keep learning,” Hampton said.
Friday night’s win moves the Viqueens to 4-0 in the district standings, with just Forrest and Grundy County left on the district slate.
Cascade returned to action on Monday night at Huntland, however results were unavailable at press time.
Community returns to its home court on Tuesday night for Senior Night against Watertown.

Community 16 10 14 20 — 60
Cascade 5 9 11 11 — 36

Community: Zoey Dixon 16, M.J. Simmons 16, Haley Mitchell 12, Breanna Whitaker 7, Jacey Collier 5, Izzy Martinez 2, Shelby Cawthon 2.
Cascade: Makenna Lamb 7, Lani Jones 7, Caroline Stone 7, Abby Littrell 6, Jordan Green 5, Sophie Ray 4.
3-Point goals: Community (7): Dixon 4, Mitchell, Collier, Whitaker; Cascade (2): Littrell, Jones.
Halftime score: Community 26, Cascade 14.