Lady Mustangs defend home court against Whiteoak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — After a close first quarter of action against the visiting Whiteoak Lady Wildcats, the host Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs battled their way to a convincing conference win in the ensuing three quarters of play, defeating the Lady ’Cats by a 74-44 score at LCHS.
A huge part of the win by the Lady Mustangs was the 31-point effort by sophomore Macy Etienne, who made eight 3-pointers, with seven of those in the first half, as she sank three treys in the first quarter and four more in the second quarter. Of her 31 points, 21 of those points came in the first half. In the second half, Etienne sank her eighth 3-pointer in the third quarter, plus added three two-point baskets and a made free throw.
“Macy was on fire in the first half,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Whitney Lewis said. “We haven’t been in the gym since Tuesday of last week, so for the kids, I was just excited to be back here in our home gym and just be playing basketball again.
“We came out a little slow, but you can't control those circumstances. And then I think we picked it up there in that second quarter offensively, with Macy coming off and just being on fire and not being able to miss from the three-point line really helps a lot. When the other team plays zone and we’ve got shooters like that, that opens up a lot of opportunities for everybody else.”
The Southern Hills Athletic Conference win by the Lady Mustangs wasn’t easy, as the score showed in the first frame, as it was Whiteoak winning 17-16 after the first quarter was completed.
WHS (5-7, 7-13) opened the game with a five-point lead with a 3-pointer by Lydia Carr and two points by Molly McMullen. Etienne answered with her first 3-pointer of the game, followed by teammate Jade Massey with a 3-pointer of her own to put LCHS in front with 5:06 left in the first quarter.
WHS answered with a strong effort as Jaylie Parr knocked down a 3-pointer, Darby Yeager scored two points in the paint and Carr hit another trey for the Lady ‘Cats, putting them up 13-6 with 3:03 on the first-quarter clock.
LC (5-7, 10-9) came back with a second trey by Etienne with 2:18 left in the quarter, along with a basket from teammate Massey. WHS extended their lead with a bucket from Yeager, while LC came back with a jumper from Kalyn Rich to put LCHS ahead 16-15 with 19 seconds left in the opening quarter. WHS regained the lead with a put-back basket by Yeager for the 17-16 lead after one quarter of play.
After a huddle between quarters with Coach Lewis, the Lady Mustangs didn’t let up in the second frame, starting the quarter with 14 straight points for a 30-17 lead with 5:21 on the second-quarter clock.
That span of scoring included a basket by Etienne to start the frame, followed by a 3-pointer from Massey, a 3-pointer by Addison West and two consecutive 3-pointers by Etienne as LCHS eventually held a halftime lead of 38-25.
LCHS followed their 22-point second quarter with a 21-point third frame, outscoring the Lady ‘Cats 21-6 in the quarter for a 59-31 lead.
LCHS had six points by Etienne, four points from Bry Price, five points from West and two points off a basket by Ella Barry in the quarter. WHS in the third had two points from Parr, Brooke Campbell and Yeager in the third.
The fourth quarter included 13 points by Whiteoak as the improved squad had a 3-pointer by Lexi Kennedy, a free throw made by Elly McMullen, a 3-pointer by Addison Roberts, two baskets by Parr and a bucker from Yeager.
LCHS in the fourth frame scored 15 points as Etienne scored four more points off two baskets, Price added six points, West made two free throws, Massey made a free throw and Barry connected with a two-point basket.
“I like where we're at,” Lewis said. “I think we're doing the right things. We're getting better each and every game. We had a lot of people step up tonight. We're gaining that confidence as we wrap up the season, headed into tournament play.”
As a team LCHS totaled 15 two-point baskets, 12 3-pointers, and they were 8-of-18 from the free-throw line. Whiteoak finished with 14 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers and were 3-of-9 with their free-throw attempts.
Whiteoak was led in the scoring column by Yeager with 12 points and Parr with 11 points, while Carr totaled 10 points. The remainder of the final scoring included three points each from Kennedy and Roberts, two points each by Molly McMullen and Brooke Campbell and Elly McMullen finishing with one point.
Following the 31 points by Etienne, Massey finished with 13 points, and Price and West each totaled 12 points. Barry scored four points, and Rich totaled two points.
Next for the Lady Mustangs is a SHAC makeup game Feb. 9 at home against West Union. Whiteoak also hosts a SHAC makeup game Feb. 9 vs. Eastern.
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A huge part of the win by the Lady Mustangs was the 31-point effort by sophomore Macy Etienne, who made eight 3-pointers, with seven of those in the first half, as she sank three treys in the first quarter and four more in the second quarter. Of her 31 points, 21 of those points came in the first half. In the second half, Etienne sank her eighth 3-pointer in the third quarter, plus added three two-point baskets and a made free throw.
“Macy was on fire in the first half,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Whitney Lewis said. “We haven’t been in the gym since Tuesday of last week, so for the kids, I was just excited to be back here in our home gym and just be playing basketball again.
“We came out a little slow, but you can't control those circumstances. And then I think we picked it up there in that second quarter offensively, with Macy coming off and just being on fire and not being able to miss from the three-point line really helps a lot. When the other team plays zone and we’ve got shooters like that, that opens up a lot of opportunities for everybody else.”
The Southern Hills Athletic Conference win by the Lady Mustangs wasn’t easy, as the score showed in the first frame, as it was Whiteoak winning 17-16 after the first quarter was completed.
WHS (5-7, 7-13) opened the game with a five-point lead with a 3-pointer by Lydia Carr and two points by Molly McMullen. Etienne answered with her first 3-pointer of the game, followed by teammate Jade Massey with a 3-pointer of her own to put LCHS in front with 5:06 left in the first quarter.
WHS answered with a strong effort as Jaylie Parr knocked down a 3-pointer, Darby Yeager scored two points in the paint and Carr hit another trey for the Lady ‘Cats, putting them up 13-6 with 3:03 on the first-quarter clock.
LC (5-7, 10-9) came back with a second trey by Etienne with 2:18 left in the quarter, along with a basket from teammate Massey. WHS extended their lead with a bucket from Yeager, while LC came back with a jumper from Kalyn Rich to put LCHS ahead 16-15 with 19 seconds left in the opening quarter. WHS regained the lead with a put-back basket by Yeager for the 17-16 lead after one quarter of play.
After a huddle between quarters with Coach Lewis, the Lady Mustangs didn’t let up in the second frame, starting the quarter with 14 straight points for a 30-17 lead with 5:21 on the second-quarter clock.
That span of scoring included a basket by Etienne to start the frame, followed by a 3-pointer from Massey, a 3-pointer by Addison West and two consecutive 3-pointers by Etienne as LCHS eventually held a halftime lead of 38-25.
LCHS followed their 22-point second quarter with a 21-point third frame, outscoring the Lady ‘Cats 21-6 in the quarter for a 59-31 lead.
LCHS had six points by Etienne, four points from Bry Price, five points from West and two points off a basket by Ella Barry in the quarter. WHS in the third had two points from Parr, Brooke Campbell and Yeager in the third.
The fourth quarter included 13 points by Whiteoak as the improved squad had a 3-pointer by Lexi Kennedy, a free throw made by Elly McMullen, a 3-pointer by Addison Roberts, two baskets by Parr and a bucker from Yeager.
LCHS in the fourth frame scored 15 points as Etienne scored four more points off two baskets, Price added six points, West made two free throws, Massey made a free throw and Barry connected with a two-point basket.
“I like where we're at,” Lewis said. “I think we're doing the right things. We're getting better each and every game. We had a lot of people step up tonight. We're gaining that confidence as we wrap up the season, headed into tournament play.”
As a team LCHS totaled 15 two-point baskets, 12 3-pointers, and they were 8-of-18 from the free-throw line. Whiteoak finished with 14 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers and were 3-of-9 with their free-throw attempts.
Whiteoak was led in the scoring column by Yeager with 12 points and Parr with 11 points, while Carr totaled 10 points. The remainder of the final scoring included three points each from Kennedy and Roberts, two points each by Molly McMullen and Brooke Campbell and Elly McMullen finishing with one point.
Following the 31 points by Etienne, Massey finished with 13 points, and Price and West each totaled 12 points. Barry scored four points, and Rich totaled two points.
Next for the Lady Mustangs is a SHAC makeup game Feb. 9 at home against West Union. Whiteoak also hosts a SHAC makeup game Feb. 9 vs. Eastern.
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