Lady Tigers win shootout over Waverly

The McClain Lady Tigers basketball team jumped out to an early 18-5 first-quarter lead but had to hold on at the end to defeat a very athletic and scrappy Waverly squad, 61-59 in Greenfield Monday night.

“We definitely needed to play in a game like this,” McClain head coach Shania Massie said. “I thought our girls came out really ready to play and started strong with that 18-5 lead, but then we kind of let up a little in the second quarter, which allowed them to get back in it at the half.”

Sophomore guard Paisley Pryor led the Lady Tigers by scoring 10 points in the opening period, and she finished with a game-high 24, which included a pair of 3-pointers.

Waverly who trailed by double digits in the first period, seemed to regroup in the second when they outscored McClain 23-12 and trailed by just two points, 30-28 at the half.

Pryor led all scorers at the break with 12 points followed by senior post player Anna Eikenberry, who also played a solid first half, scoring 10.  

Junior Paige O’Bryant led the visitors at the intermission with 12 points, and Waverly was almost perfect at the line in the second period where they converted 8-of-10 free throws for 80 percent.

“I told my girls before the game that Waverly would make foul-shots and they could shoot from behind the 3-point line, plus their guards were good at driving the ball to the basket, which they did,” Massie said.

McClain got a long 3-pointer from sophomore Larah Henson to begin the third quarter, but Waverly answered with back-to-back made shots, and the Lady Tigers’ lead slipped to just one point at 33-32. The Greenfield girls closed out the third period on a 12-6 run and held a 45-38 advantage heading to the fourth.

The final period started well for McClain when senior guard Katie Cook got loose underneath the basket and scored, pushing the lead to 47-38.  

Over the next several minutes, both teams just traded baskets until Waverly put together an impressive 10-0 run and grabbed their first lead of the game 54-53 with just under three minutes left in regulation. Pryor stepped up for the Lady Tigers down the stretch, scoring back-to-back buckets to regain the lead for McClain until Waverly tied the game 57-57 after three quick points with 1:05 remaining.

The game remained deadlocked at 59-59 after a score inside by McClain’s Brenna Wright and another driving lay-in by O’Bryant for Waverly. McClain held on at the end by converting 2-of-4 free throws to win 61-59 in exciting fashion.

It was a hard-fought game that saw players completely drained on both teams from the effort they had given the entire 32 minutes of action on the floor.

“This game kind of tested our ability, and it showed that we can win these types of games, especially against a really good team, and it came down to who could make free throws at the end,” Massie said. “It was a very physical game, and I thought it was important to see that none of our girls gave up, even when it got close there in the second half and at the end.

“Everyone on this team knows their roles, and that’s one of the great things that I’m really proud of them for. This game shows that we have the opportunity to be a really good basketball team this year, and I’m really excited about that.”

The Lady Tigers improve to an impressive 6-1 on the season and will travel to Miami Trace Wednesday, Dec. 11, then return home to host Chillicothe Saturday, Dec. 14 for an afternoon contest.

Individual scoring for McClain: Larah Henson 2,1,6, Lindsey Hutchinson 1,0,2, Katie Cook 2,0,4, Paisley Pryor 9,4,24, Brie Cummins 2,0,4, Brenna Wright 1,1,3, Anna Eikenberry 7,3,18, Totals 24,10,61. 3-point goals: Henson 1, Pryor 2. McClain converted 10-of-19 free-throws.

Paige O’Bryant led Waverly with a team-high 18 points, followed by Sadie Royster, who added 17. Waverly also converted 15-of-18 free throws.

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