Lady Tigers cruise past Lady Lions

GREENFIELD — For one quarter, the McClain Lady Tigers and Fairfield Lady Lions stayed close on the scoreboard, but the experience and the overall defensive presence of the host Lady Tigers proved too much for the Lady Lions to overcome Saturday.

The afternoon win by the Lady Tigers saw them hold their Highland County visitors to single-digit scoring in three of four quarters played with their stout defense, eventually leading to a 66-30 victory at McClain Gym.

In the non-league contest, it was MHS (8-2) who led 16-8 after the first quarter, starting the game with a 6-0 run with four points by Malea Montavon and two points by Shania Massie for the six-point lead with 6:54 left in the quarter.

Montavon was one of three Lady Tigers to score 10 points, as teammates Beth Montgomery and Taylor Polley also scored 10 in the win. MHS was led in scoring by Massie with 14 points.

"I thought we did a nice job of sharing the ball," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "Our game plan was to push the ball off the bat, and with Malea having four quick points, that was a good way to set the tone.

"Our kids did a good job defensively. Taylor did a great job defending their top players. On offense again, we were very unselfish, and if we continue to do that and get more players involved, we are going to be really good. Even with our defense, we still need to improve."

Coach Haines spoke about those improvements he wants to see as the Lady Tigers head into the 2015 calendar year.

"We had some letdowns we need to work on, but again, I'm still pleased with the effort. It wasn't our best outing."

The Lady Lions (3-6) answered with points by Lydia Sowders and Kaitlin Evans, but those four points were answered with four points by Sarah Thompson and Montgomery to put MHS ahead, 10-4 with 4:21 on the clock.

Evans finished with six points in the loss, while FHS was led in scoring by Grace Shope with 11 points. Sowders totaled five points for the Lady Lions.

Following a timeout by FHS, Sowders added to the Lady Lions' total with a jumper, but MHS followed by outscoring FHS, 6-2 to end the first frame with points by Polley and four points from Sydney Barton for the eight-point advantage.

For the remainder of the non-league affair, it was all MHS, outscoring the Lady Lions, 18-6 in the second quarter for a 20-point advantage at halftime at 34-14.

"In the first half, we got some easy shots, and that has been the story in our last three or four games, but we just can't seem to finish," FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. "We get the shots we wanted and even layups … but we can't seem to finish.

"(McClain) is a very good team, and we didn't quit, and that's all I can ask for at the end … for them to play as hard as they can and to give everything they got."

In that second frame, MHS opened with a 9-0 run, including a 3-pointer from Brooke Foody at the 6:50 mark of the quarter for a 21-8 advantage. That was the first of three 3-pointers for Foody on the day. In the past two games, Foody has connected from beyond the arc seven times.

"Brooke is just a natural shooter, and it was nice to see her with a game like she had," Haines said.

Blake Adams broke up the Lady Tigers' scoring barrage for the Lady Lions, but MHS wrapped up the quarter by outscoring the Lady Lions, 11-4 in the final 2:56 of the quarter, including a three-point play from Massie.

In the final two quarters, MHS doubled the scoring of FHS, at 32-16, with MHS scoring 16 points in each of the final two quarters. FHS scored 12 points in the third frame and four points in the fourth.

The second half saw Montavon, Montgomery, Polley, Massie, Foody, Barton, Thompson and MiKenzie Coleman all score points, with Massie, Foody and Thompson all sinking 3-points in the final 16 minutes of the intra-county contest.

For FHS in the second-half scoring points were Shope, Carly Arnold, Sowders, Haley Bobb and Olivia Bobb.

MHS finished a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line (including Montgomery at 4-of-4), while FHS was 2-of-5.