Lady Tigers win big over Paint Valley

The McClain Lady Tigers varsity basketball team and first-year head coach Shania Massie started the new season off well Wednesday night with an impressive 59-27 non-conference victory over visiting Paint Valley.

Freshman Paisley Pryor led McClain with a team-high 14 points, followed closely by senior Lily Barnes, who also hit double figures with 12 points.

The Lady Tigers jumped out to an early 9-0 advantage and held a 14-7 lead after one quarter was in the books. Barnes led all scorers in the opening period with eight points, which included a long three from behind the arc.

“I’m really pleased with how we started and played tonight,” Massie said. “I think everyone executed our game plan really well, and that was impressive since we knew very little about Paint Valley with it being both teams’ first game.

“I thought defensively we played fabulous, and offensively I think the game will come to us, but overall I couldn’t be more pleased with the win.”

McClain continued to extend their lead in the second quarter when Pryor started heating up, scoring 11 of the Lady Tigers’ 22 points, and the lead grew to double digits at 36-14 at the half.  Lindsey Hutchinson also played well coming off the bench, scoring five points, which included a long 3-pointer.

Even with the lopsided halftime score, defense was still the key to the fast start, especially the quickness and aggressive play of the McClain guards.

Seniors Luca Matesic and Kaitlyn Jett, along with Hutchinson, Katie Cook and Lillie Saunders, were outstanding the entire game, causing havoc and forcing several turnovers by the Lady Bearcat guards.

“Our team is really deep, and all of the girls have the potential to play key roles in our success, and tonight it showed because we played everyone on our bench,” said Massie. “Lindsey Hutchinson came in off the bench and played well, Katie Cook played great defensively and Paisley Pryor, who’s just a freshman, played really hard and led us with 14 points after some first-game varsity jitters early on.”

The Lady Tigers continued to play well both offensively and defensively in the third period and outscored Paint Vally 17-7, putting the game out of reach, 53-21 heading to the fourth quarter.

Anna Eikenberry and Brenna Wright, who are both inside players, each scored four points in the third with some impressive moves and stick-backs inside the paint.

Both coaches emptied their benches in the final period, letting everyone play and get some valuable varsity experience.

“Our next couple of games are going to be a little bit tougher against [Frontier Athletic Conference] opponents, but we’re going to prepare well and work hard in practice and see what we can do. Hopefully we can come out with a couple big wins,” Massie said.

McClain had 10 of their 13 players score in the contest, led by Pryor’s 14 and Barnes’ 12.  

Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Tigers were Eikenberry 8, Wright 6, Hutchinson 5, Matesic 4, Jett 3, Brie Cummins 3, Larah Henson 3 and Cook 1. 3-point field goals: Pryor 1, Hutchinson 1, and Henson 1. The Lady Tigers were 8-of-14 from the foul line for 57 percent.

Paint Valley was led in scoring by Sophia Stauffer with a team-high 14 points, which included converting 8-of-12 free throws.

McClain’s next game is Wednesday, Nov. 29 when they entertain FAC foe Jackson.