Lady Tigers defeat Miami Trace in low-scoring affair

The McClain varsity girls basketball team won their sixth straight game and improved their overall record to 7-1 (4-0 Frontier Athletic Conference) after defeating Miami Trace 43-32 in Greenfield on Wednesday night.

McClain’s Paisley Pryor continued her offensive dominance in the conference with another game-high 19-point performance, but she had to work for it against the athletic and very quick Lady Panthers defense.

The first quarter proved to be the difference in the ballgame when the Lady Tigers outscored Miami Trace 15-4. After that, both teams played almost even basketball the rest of the contest.

Pryor scored eight points to lead all scorers in the opening frame. The Lady Panthers outscored McClain 8-7 in a low-scoring second period but still trailed by double digits, 22-12 at halftime.

It was also a first half of momentum swings by both teams. McClain used a 9-0 run to build their first-quarter advantage, and the Lady Panthers had a 6-0 run in the second that kept them within striking distance. 

“I thought we started off the game with great momentum, but then in the second quarter I thought we relaxed a little bit and let them stay in it,” said McClain head coach Shania Massie.

In the third period, the Lady Panthers really cranked up their defensive pressure and came out and hit back-to-back threes by Allison Reeves and Gracie Lovett, then later cut the McClain lead to just one point 24-23 at the 3:50 mark of the period.

The Lady Tigers regrouped and scored the final seven points of the quarter to extend their lead back to 31-22 heading to the fourth quarter.

Gracie Lovett really ignited the Lady Panthers’ offense in the fourth when she scored seven of her team-high 14 points.

“Gracie (Lovett) is a great player, and she really stepped up for them, especially in the second half,” Massie said. “She was definitely the spark that really got them going offensively.”

In the final period, Miami Trace was never able to create a serious threat, and the Lady Tigers took the air out of the ball and stalled down the stretch, forcing Miami Trace to foul. McClain held on for the hard-fought 43-32 FAC victory.

“I thought we picked up our defensive pressure when we needed to after we slacked off some on the offensive end, and there’s going to be times when that happens,” Massie said. “We’ve got Hillsboro coming here on Saturday. They’re a really good team, and we’ll see how things go then.”

Individual scoring for McClain: Pryor 19, Larah Henson 9, Leah Lovett 6, Brie Cummins 5, McKenzie West 2 and Allie Burgess 2. The Lady Tigers converted 11-of-18 free throws.

Gracie Lovett led Miami Trace with a team-high 14 points, followed by Allison Reeves, Cali Kirkpatrick and Ryleigh Vincent, all of whom scored six points each.  The Lady Panthers made 5-of-11 free throws in the game.

McClain improves to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the FAC, while Miami Trace slips to 3-4 overall and (2-3) in the FAC.

The Lady Tigers host Hillsboro Saturday, Dec. 20 with a noon JV tipoff.

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 26 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.