Lady Mustangs pluck Blue Jays
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE - A fourth quarter domination by the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs put them in position to gain at least a share of the Southern Hills League Division I title, as they used tough defense and scored on open opportunities to defeat the Ripley Lady Blue Jays 45-33 Monday night at Lynchburg-Clay High School.
Not only did the win allow the Lady Mustangs (10-2, 13-5) to control their own destiny, but it was win No. 350 for LC head coach Linda Hatten.
"When the fourth started, we told the girls we needed to get quick steals and to start moving the ball," Linda Hatten said. "We haven't played since Thursday and we left it all on the floor against North Adams, and we haven't been on the court for a game or practice since the North Adams game Thursday."
To get to Hatten's 350th victory, the Lady Mustangs turned a one possession game into a two possession contest as junior Hannah Blankenship scored on a fast break off a steal and pass from junior teammate Lillian Blankenship with 7:29 left in the final quarter of play.
Lillian Blankenship continued to roll in the fourth as she netted two points of her own when senior Cali Hatten found the open Blankenship near the hoop with an underneath pass.
The Lady Blue Jays fought to make the score closer with a free throw from Kelsey Carpenter, but after Lillian Blankenship used her hard-nosed defense to force another turnover, the offense of Cali Hatten and freshman Laney Lewis put the Lady Mustangs ahead by nine points, with the lead coming with 4:34 left in the fourth as Lewis connected her two points with a hook shot.
Carpenter brought her team back within single digits with two free throws, but they were quickly answered and equaled by Lillian Blankenship with 1:14 left in regulation to bounce LC ahead at 41-31.
LC senior Lindsey Hawk and Lillian Blankenship netted the final four Lady Mustang free throws to put LC in the lead by 12 points.
Hatten led all scorers with a game-high 13 points, shooting 6 of 11 from the field for 54 percent.
Lillian Blankenship followed with 11 points, five assists and two steals.
"Lillian did a good job on their ball handler with her defense," Hatten said.
But the first three quarters were a different story for the Lady Mustangs as they opened the first half with a 9-5 lead after the opening eight minutes, and led 16-15 after two quarters.
Hawk scored first against the Lady Blue Jays, but Ripley (9-10) came back to take a 5-4 lead when Whitney Plymesser netted two points.
Lillian Blankenship put LC into the top spot with a 3-pointer at the 1:31 mark of the first and with a one-handed jumper inside the paint with .59 seconds left in the quarter.
In the second frame, sophomore Brooke Hertlein scored the first four LC points to put the Lady Mustangs up 13-7 with 6:27 left in the second.
Hatten followed with a free throw, and with 2:51 left in the opening half, Lewis knocked down two points to make the score 16-9.
Ripley scored the final points of the second with Sadie Grisham bringing the Lady Blue Jays within three points of tying the game and Megan Kirschner sinking a jumper with 3.8 seconds to go in the first 16 minutes of play to make the score 16-15 in favor of Lynchburg at the half.
The Lady Blue Jays took the lead with 4:54 left in the third when Kirschner sank a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the arc for a 20-18 advantage.
Lewis and Hatten clawed the Lady Mustangs back to the lead with put back buckets with 3:42 left on the clock in the third frame.
Hawk and Lewis scored the last LC third quarter points with a fast break by Hawk and a put back from Lewis to give LC a 28-26 lead.
Lewis finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Hertlein played balanced with four points and three blocked shots in the SHL win.
LC jumps to 13-5 overall, 10-2 in the SHL. LC has one league game remaining Thursday as they will host the Fayette Lady Rockets in their final home game of the season. The game will also be Linda Hatten's last home game as coach of the Lady Mustangs, with a special celebration to honor the longtime head coach.
The Fayetteville-LC JV game will start at 5 p.m.
In JV play Monday LC fell 42-39. Lisa Rhonemus and Emma Setty led LC with 10 points each.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
RHS - 5 10 11 7 - 33
LCHS - 9 7 12 17 - 45
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LCHS (45)
H.Blankenship 1 2, L.Blankenship 2 (1) 4-4 11, Lewis 4 0-1 8, Hatten 6 1-4 13, Hertlein 2 4, Hawk 2 3-4 7. TOTALS: 17 (1) 8-13 45.
RHS (33)
Grisham 4 2-4 10, Carpenter 2 3-4 7, Kirschner 3(1) 1-2 10, Plymesser 2 4, Malone 1 2. TOTALS: 12 (1) 6-10 33.[[In-content Ad]]
Not only did the win allow the Lady Mustangs (10-2, 13-5) to control their own destiny, but it was win No. 350 for LC head coach Linda Hatten.
"When the fourth started, we told the girls we needed to get quick steals and to start moving the ball," Linda Hatten said. "We haven't played since Thursday and we left it all on the floor against North Adams, and we haven't been on the court for a game or practice since the North Adams game Thursday."
To get to Hatten's 350th victory, the Lady Mustangs turned a one possession game into a two possession contest as junior Hannah Blankenship scored on a fast break off a steal and pass from junior teammate Lillian Blankenship with 7:29 left in the final quarter of play.
Lillian Blankenship continued to roll in the fourth as she netted two points of her own when senior Cali Hatten found the open Blankenship near the hoop with an underneath pass.
The Lady Blue Jays fought to make the score closer with a free throw from Kelsey Carpenter, but after Lillian Blankenship used her hard-nosed defense to force another turnover, the offense of Cali Hatten and freshman Laney Lewis put the Lady Mustangs ahead by nine points, with the lead coming with 4:34 left in the fourth as Lewis connected her two points with a hook shot.
Carpenter brought her team back within single digits with two free throws, but they were quickly answered and equaled by Lillian Blankenship with 1:14 left in regulation to bounce LC ahead at 41-31.
LC senior Lindsey Hawk and Lillian Blankenship netted the final four Lady Mustang free throws to put LC in the lead by 12 points.
Hatten led all scorers with a game-high 13 points, shooting 6 of 11 from the field for 54 percent.
Lillian Blankenship followed with 11 points, five assists and two steals.
"Lillian did a good job on their ball handler with her defense," Hatten said.
But the first three quarters were a different story for the Lady Mustangs as they opened the first half with a 9-5 lead after the opening eight minutes, and led 16-15 after two quarters.
Hawk scored first against the Lady Blue Jays, but Ripley (9-10) came back to take a 5-4 lead when Whitney Plymesser netted two points.
Lillian Blankenship put LC into the top spot with a 3-pointer at the 1:31 mark of the first and with a one-handed jumper inside the paint with .59 seconds left in the quarter.
In the second frame, sophomore Brooke Hertlein scored the first four LC points to put the Lady Mustangs up 13-7 with 6:27 left in the second.
Hatten followed with a free throw, and with 2:51 left in the opening half, Lewis knocked down two points to make the score 16-9.
Ripley scored the final points of the second with Sadie Grisham bringing the Lady Blue Jays within three points of tying the game and Megan Kirschner sinking a jumper with 3.8 seconds to go in the first 16 minutes of play to make the score 16-15 in favor of Lynchburg at the half.
The Lady Blue Jays took the lead with 4:54 left in the third when Kirschner sank a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the arc for a 20-18 advantage.
Lewis and Hatten clawed the Lady Mustangs back to the lead with put back buckets with 3:42 left on the clock in the third frame.
Hawk and Lewis scored the last LC third quarter points with a fast break by Hawk and a put back from Lewis to give LC a 28-26 lead.
Lewis finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Hertlein played balanced with four points and three blocked shots in the SHL win.
LC jumps to 13-5 overall, 10-2 in the SHL. LC has one league game remaining Thursday as they will host the Fayette Lady Rockets in their final home game of the season. The game will also be Linda Hatten's last home game as coach of the Lady Mustangs, with a special celebration to honor the longtime head coach.
The Fayetteville-LC JV game will start at 5 p.m.
In JV play Monday LC fell 42-39. Lisa Rhonemus and Emma Setty led LC with 10 points each.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
RHS - 5 10 11 7 - 33
LCHS - 9 7 12 17 - 45
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LCHS (45)
H.Blankenship 1 2, L.Blankenship 2 (1) 4-4 11, Lewis 4 0-1 8, Hatten 6 1-4 13, Hertlein 2 4, Hawk 2 3-4 7. TOTALS: 17 (1) 8-13 45.
RHS (33)
Grisham 4 2-4 10, Carpenter 2 3-4 7, Kirschner 3(1) 1-2 10, Plymesser 2 4, Malone 1 2. TOTALS: 12 (1) 6-10 33.[[In-content Ad]]