Lady Mustangs move to 10-0 in SHAC standings; defeat Fairfield
LEESBURG — It was another successful week of basketball for the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs. They began the week winning by 45 points over Georgetown, stayed in the Top 10 in the Associated Press Division III state rankings and capped off the week on Thursday night with a convincing conference win on the road.
The Southern Hills Athlete Conference win over the Fairfield Lady Lions consisted of very solid defensive play and their usual ability to score points nearly every time they touched the basketball, leaving the visiting Lady Mustangs with a 65-30 victory, their 16th of the season.
Lynchburg-Clay’s win in Leesburg leaves them a perfect 10-0 in the SHAC, as LC is seeking their first conference championship since the 2009-10 season. The Lady Mustangs have three conference games left on their schedule: vs. Fayetteville (Jan. 25), at Manchester (Jan. 28) and at North Adams (Feb. 4).
After 10 SHAC games this season, the Lady Mustangs have outscored their opponents 630-283 (+317), and overall for the season, LC has outscored the opposition, 1,095-536 (+559) as they are ranked ninth in the state in Division III basketball for a second consecutive week.
Sixty-five points of that scoring came on Thursday night, and it didn’t take long for the Lady Mustangs to prove why they sit atop the SHAC standings, outscoring their hosts, 18-2 in the first eight minutes of the game, including starting the game with 10 consecutive points.
“Defensively, I thought we did a really good job in the first quarter, allowing just two points, as I can’t ask for much more than that,” LC head coach Whitney Lewis said. “The second quarter, we let down a little bit, and (Fairfield) was on fire inside the arc.”
Ali Little began the scoring for LC with a basket in the paint, followed by six straight points by Peyton Scott. From there, McKayla and Hannah Binkley chipped in with two points each. FHS stopped the run with two free throws from Blake Adams.
From there, LC ended the opening frame with eight straight points, beginning with two more points by Scott with 1:36 left in the quarter and the final six by Hannah Binkley, including the last basket of the quarter coming on a fast break, as Scott gained the assist by stealing the ball, then under-handing the ball to Binkley in transition for two points.
Trailing by 16 points, Fairfield (5-5, 10-8) didn’t give up in the second quarter, scoring 16 points of their own in the eight-minute frame, but they still trailed 37-18 with LC scoring 19 points of their own in the same quarter.
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In that second frame, Carly Arnold scored six points, Grace Shope added four points and with two points each in the second frame were Lauren Arnold, Trinity Huff and Adams.
Lynchburg-Clay had Hannah Binkley connect three times from beyond the arc in that same frame to score 11 points in the quarter. Little, Lexi Waits, Scott and McKayla Binkley all scored two points in the second.
Hannah Binkley led all scorers with 18 points, as she was one of four Lady Mustangs players to reach double figures. McKayla Binkley totaled 14 points, Scott finished with 13 points and Little totaled 12 points, as she finished with a double-double by adding 10 rebounds to her overall totals Thursday.
When halftime arrived, LC built a 19-point advantage, and once the third quarter was completed they led 52-21, winning the third quarter, 15-3 as Little, Waits, Scott, Vanessa Thiel and McKayla Binkley added points to the scoring column. In the third, McKayla Binkley scored six points.
In the fourth frame, LC outscored the Lady Lions, 13-9.
“To allow 12 points in the second half, I was really happy with our defensive effort,” Lewis said.
For the Lady Lions, Shope and Huff led their team with seven points each. Carly Arnold finished with six points, while Adams and Lauren Arnold each scored four points. Macie Pauley finished with two points in the loss.
Other final scoring totals in the win by LC included Waits with four points, and Marissa Mitchell and Thiel with two.
LC went 3-of-10 from the free-throw line, and FHS was 5-of-13.
“They (FHS) changed up their defense a little bit at times, and we didn’t take care of the ball as well as I would have liked,” Lewis said. “We had a couple silly turnovers, but once we settled down, we had a good offensive night.
“We are just trying to get ready for tournament games and a big tournament run as we close out the regular season.”
Fairfield will play again on Monday, Jan. 25 at Whiteoak. The Lady Mustangs are also scheduled to play on Monday, Jan. 25 vs. Fayetteville. Both games are SHAC contests.
In JV play Thursday night, Lynchburg-Clay defeated Fairfield, 26-24. Leading LC in scoring was Chelsea Hart with 10 points. Fairfield was led by Chloe Barber with 10 points.