OPELIKA — Opelika stung the LaFayette girls in the first half on Friday night, and the Bulldogs were never able to recover in the 66-32 loss.

“We got physically overwhelmed a little bit,” LaFayette girls head coach Michael Bratcher said. “The first half effort just wasn’t there. We got caught looking. Second half was much better. Hopefully, we can learn from the mistakes we made and get better.”

Opelika came in with a defensive game plan to stop LaFayette sophomore star forward Feliah Greer. The team doubled, and denied Greer the ball on many offensive possessions, forcing some tough jumpers by the sophomore and missed shots from other Bulldogs.

“I think there were a couple of times tonight where she got caught trying to do too much,” Bratcher said. “You could see that she almost knew that she had to go out and still [shoot] because no one else would do it. She came out more tonight than she ever has come out, because she was so tired from how hard she was playing.”

Opelika used its size against LaFayette to grab rebounds and block the road team’s shots throughout the night. One of the many blocks came when LaFayette’s second-option on offense, Ebony Williams, was denied on a three-point attempt in the fourth quarter. 

“In the first half, I felt like she came out and didn’t play her game,” Bratcher said. “In the second half, I felt like she played much better. She knocked down a couple of threes in the second half. 

“We just can’t get down 28, and then from that point, we pretty much play straight up with them. We waited too long to come into the game, and we can’t do that against a good team.”

The LaFayette girls return to action today at home against Bullock County. The matchup tips off at 2 p.m. CST.