Darton women hammer Chattahoochee Tech

ALBANY — Get up and stay up.

According to forward Tamarah Fisher, that was the Darton State Lady Cavaliers’ motto Wednesday night and it showed in both their energy level on the court and the statistics on the stat sheet as they went on to defeat Chattahoochee Tech 95-41 at the Cavalier Arena.

The Lady Cavs built a 51-17 lead at the half and as the second and third units came in, they didn’t miss a beat. Chattahoochee Tech’s eight-women roster was outran early in the first half and eventually three of their players fouled out, forcing them to play the last two minutes of the game with four players.

The win is number 11 on the season for Darton and their third straight in Region 17 play. One could argue that the way they’ve been winning is more impressive than their record itself. They have five games where they’ve scored 90 points or more, and seven times where they’ve defeated teams by 20 points or more. The Lady Cavs are averaging 81.1 points a game while holding their opponents to just 54.

With such large margins, head coach Lea Henry has been able to give minutes to her entire roster. She said that she’s starting to see more confidence in her younger players and improvement in her bench.

“A lot of it is them understanding that coming off the bench and playing with the first group, doesn’t mean you have to come out there and score 10 points,” she said. “It means you gotta fit in and not make mistakes and continue to keep us where we are.”

Leadership has also played a factor in the Lady Cavs’ efficiency this season, particularly from Fisher. The sophomore has averaged about 15 points in the last four games and said she feels very comfortable playing in the system.

“This is my third year here so I pretty much know my role,” she said. “And once I get the feel, it just comes naturally.”

She added that her younger teammates have been following her lead as well as that of her other veteran teammates. Above all, she said their chemistry is what’s gotten them to this point.

“It’s perfect. I feel like that’s one of the reasons why we’re winning,” she said. “We’ve got great chemistry.”

Shanea Armbrister led all scorers with 31 points, followed by Fisher with 15 and Destiny Covert with 10. The Lady Cavs will need their get up and stay up mentality to carry over into this weekend as they face cross-town rival Albany Tech at Albany State Saturday at 5:30 p.m.