Lady Tigers overcome slow start to defeat Washington

The McClain Lady Tigers varsity basketball team overcame a slow start to defeat conference foe Washington 43-34 Saturday afternoon in Greenfield.

The win was McClain’s 11th straight and improves their overall season record to an impressive 12-1 and a perfect 6-0 in the Frontier Athletic Conference.

The Lady Tigers had not played since Dec. 21, and that extended layoff was probably the reason things didn’t start well and definitely contributed to the sluggish first game back.

“I was kind of expecting this,” said McClain head coach Shania Massie. “I told the girls before the game that we might come out a little flat and rusty because we haven’t played a game for almost a month.”

McClain scored first on a bucket inside by Brenna Wright, but the Lady Blue Lions answered quickly and scored 10 straight points and took an early 10-2 advantage.

The McClain coaching staff chose not to call a timeout and let things play out, and it seemed to work, as the Lady Tigers put together a little 6-2 mini-run to end the quarter and only trailed 12-8 at the end of the first period.

“Washington got up on us early (10-2), and I decided not to call a timeout because I wanted to see my girls work through some adversity and to see what they were capable of doing, and I thought that was important,” Massie said.

The strategy seemed to work because in the second quarter the Lady Tigers outscored Washington 10-4 and took a slim 18-16 advantage into the halftime locker room.  Another big factor in the opening frame was the fact that sophomore point guard and McClain’s leading scorer Paisley Pryor was held without a point, but seniors Anna Eikenberry and Brenna Wright both combined for 11 of the Lady Tigers’ 18 first-half points.

“Paisley (Pryor) didn’t score at all in the first quarter, and that’s when Anna (Eikenberry) and Brenna (Wright) really stepped up their game, which was a big key for us and shows that everyone on this team knows their roles,” Massie said. “Those two stepping up early allowed us to get points and helped us get going.”

Pryor was responsible for seven of McClain’s 10 second-quarter points, and she finished the game with 19 points to pace the Lady Tiger scoring.

McClain continued to lead in the third period, but the Lady Blue Lions kept it close by matching baskets and trailed by just four points, 33-29 after the third-period horn sounded.

McClain opened up the fourth quarter with senior Brie Cummins scoring five straight points, which included an inside basket and a long 3-pointer to push the Lady Tigers’ lead to 38-29. After another Pryor basket at the five-minute mark, McClain had a double-digit advantage at 40-29.

Washington’s senior point guard Maggi Wall pulled the Lady Blue Lions a little closer moments later when she scored five straight points, including a long three, but the Lady Tigers ran some clock and held on for the hard-earned 43-34 victory.

Washington was led in scoring by junior post player Peyton Hughes, who finished with a team-high 10 points, all coming in the first half which was another reason for the early Lady Blue Lion advantage. But the McClain defense completely shut her down in the second half, holding her scoreless.

“One of our key talking points at halftime was to shut down the Hughes girl,” said Massie. “There was times that we were helping out on her but completely off of her, and that just can’t happen. I thought we did a much better job on her in the second half.

“This was a good win for us, and it’s a big positive moving forward. Washington is a really good team that is well-coached.

“We know we’re going to have to work through some adversity because every time we play, we have a target on our backs, but we’ll get back into our groove and continue working to get better, and I think we’ll get back there,” Massie continued.

The biggest struggle in the ballgame for McClain was at the foul line, where the Lady Tigers only converted 4-of-11 free throws, and that has been one of their strong points most of the season.

“I think we were only 4-of-11 from the foul line, and typically we do all right with our free throws, but tonight I think it was mostly just a lack of focus,” Massie said.

McClain (12-1) will travel to Clinton-Massie Monday, Jan. 13 for a tough non-league game before returning home Wednesday, Jan. 15 when they will host Jackson.

Individual scoring for McClain was: Paisley Pryor 8,1,19, Anna Eikenberry 4,0,8, Brenna Wright 4,0,8, Brie Cummins 2,0,5, Larah Henson 0,3,3. Totals: 18,4,43.

Peyton Hughes led Washington with 10 points, followed by Kate Miller and Maggi Wall, who added eight points each.

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