OXFORD — Rylie Homan got herself into some early foul trouble, and the Edgewood senior guard didn’t like it the least bit.
There wasn’t much she could do on the bench, either.
“It was hard sitting over there — especially when it was a close game,” Homan said. “Sitting over there and watching was so hard.”
Homan went on to score a game-high 23 points, Maddy Judd chipped in with 18 and the visiting Cougars cruised to a 68-30 nonconference win over the Talawanda Brave on Monday night.
Homan, who surpassed the 1,000-career points mark in Saturday’s loss at Waynesville, did all of her work after seeing limited playing time in the first quarter.
Judd, a senior, stepped up in her absence.
“You can tell in the first quarter, that whenever she’s out, the team is a little different,” Edgewood coach Xavier Fugate said of Homan, who is the program’s all-time leader in steals and assists. “Rylie, in my opinion — and I’ve been around this kid for four years — is the best point guard in the area. She’s the best all-around.
“You have great scoring point guards. But when you want somebody who can handle the ball, looks to find her teammates, do a lot of scoring — the kid has achieved so much. We’ve had high hopes with her coming in, and she’s done nothing but fulfill everything we thought she was going to be and more.”
The Cougars (6-8) have won three out of their last four and snapped a four-game skid against the Brave (7-10).
“Once we play defense, it kind of flows into our offense,” Fugate said. “Lately, they’ve really bought into the defensive end and rebounding — which is the biggest thing for us. You kind of see it transition into the offensive end, and they start to get into a little bit of a rhythm.”
Talawanda led most of the first quarter, but Judd scored five of her points to send Edgewood into the second period with an 11-9 lead.
Homan had a nine-point second quarter, the Cougars led 29-18 at the half and the Brave couldn’t gain any traction the rest of the way.
“We knew exactly what she was about,” Talawanda co-coach DeAndre Williams said of Homan. “She picked up two fouls early, and she went to the bench. It forces them to adjust in different kinds of ways, and we were able to make it competitive. But she’s just a tough player. She’s going to get hers no matter what.
“I thought we played poor help defense, and that was the key. We didn’t edge too well. It wasn’t the person who was really guarding (Homan and Judd). They were penetrating and getting to the second level, and we just didn’t guard that consistently across the board.”
Senior McKenna Weekley had a team-high 16 points for Talawanda, which has continued to endure some aches and pains while losing four out of its last five contests.
“Some of our young players are learning brand new roles,” Williams said. “As players are out and we’re losing bodies, having to adjust is definitely arduous. It’s growing for everybody. Right now, it’s the next man up mentality.”
UP NEXT
Talawanda hosts Northwest on Wednesday, while Edgewood welcomes Seton on Thursday.
