Stephanie Sturgis - Press Sports Editor
Posted: Thursday, October 30, 2008 5:08 pm

Draw and dish — Martin Middle School's Kaitlyn Harrelson (left) prepares to flip a pass out to a teammate on the wing, while Lady Lions Millie Williams (center) and Amy McAlpin surge toward her during action Monday night at Martin.

First-game jitters weren't too much of a problem for the Martin Middle School basketball teams when they made their 2008-09 season debuts against the Dresden Middle School Lions Monday night at Martin.
In the girls game, Martin's Lady Panthers needed more than two minutes to light the scoreboard before pulling away for a 51-23 victory over the visiting Lady Lions.
In the boys game, Martin scored 16 of its 54 points in the first frame on the way to a 54-24 victory over Dresden.
In the opener, the Lady Panthers utilized their size, their depth and their fullcourt press to wear down the Dresden girls.
Martin needed all of its depth as foul problems cropped up for the Lady Panthers in the first half. In the first two quarters, MMS committed 17 fouls, resulting in repeated trips to the free-throw line for Dresden. The Lady Lions took 22 charity shots in the half, connecting on 13. Dresden needed all those points, as the MMS defense allowed just one basket in the half — an Ashlee Garner baseline jumper.
While the Lady Lions didn't score from the floor in the first quarter, Martin was getting seven total points from Kaley Leyhue, including the team's first basket on a fastbreak layup.
DMS guards Aubrey Riggs (3 points) and Carrie Hatchel (4 points) connected at the line, but Martin led 14-7 after a quarter.
In the second quarter, MMS scoring came from six different players including a trey from Kendall Leyhue and four points from Katelyn Harrelson in building a 30-15 halftime lead.
In addition to Garner's hoop, Dresden got four freebies from Amy McAlpin in the quarter.
Martin extended its lead to 45-21 after three quarters on the way to the 51-23 victory.
Kaley Leyhue led all scorers with 14 points followed by nine from Harrelson for MMS. For Dresden, McAlpin was tops with 8 points.
In the boys game, the long and lean Panthers were too much for the Dresden Lions in the 54-24 season-opening victory.
Martin opened the scoring with an 8-footer from Javier Gordon at the 5:11 mark. Dresden had an answer and took the lead, 3-2, when Ryne Vinson drilled a 3-pointer 18 seconds later.
The Panthers moved back in front when R.J. Scott drove in for a layup.
Dresden managed a 4-4 tie on an Austin Maxey free throw with 3:33 left in the first quarter.
From that point, Martin took control with a suffocating defense and an attacking offense. The Panthers also dominated on the boards resulting in many second-chance points.
By the end of the quarter, Martin led 16-4. The Panthers gave up just four more points in the half to hold a 34-8 halftime advantage. MMS was on top 44-16 after three quarters and finished with the 54-24 win.
The Panthers were led by 11 points from Gordon, 10 from Alex Ross and 9 from Antonio Hogard. Dresden's top scorer was Maxey with 6 points.