LC’s Jade Massey nets 1,000th career point as Lady Mustangs defeat Fairfield

LEESBURG — Going on the road and needing 11 points to have her name etched into the Lynchburg-Clay record book, senior Jade Massey became the newest member of the 1,000-point club Thursday night.

Finishing with 14 points, Massey surpassed the 1,000th career point plateau with 4:02 left in the third frame, and that quarter allowed the Lady Mustangs to run away from the Lady Lions, winning the Southern Hills Athletic Conference game by a 71-46 score. 

Massey scored 10 of her 14 points in the third after battling some foul trouble in the first half, and in the third she suffered a finger injury, staying in the game and overcoming both obstacles.

“It wasn't one of my goals [to start], but as I progressed throughout the season, it was,” Massey told The Highland County Press of scoring her 1,000th point. “I didn't have a very good first quarter or half, so I just thought that I would have to come out and try and get it then [in the second half], my last chance to get it [Thursday night].

"Me and one of the other girls collided, and I guess I stubbed my finger and bent my nail backward. It was very hard [to keep playing] because it's very tender right now.”

After a strong battle between both teams in the first half where the Lady Lions and Lady Mustangs played to a four-point differential where Lynchburg-Clay led Fairfield 31-27, the third quarter was a different story where LCHS rewrote how the tempo of the game went, outscoring the host Lady Lions, 27-7, but Fairfield was first to score points in the quarter with a put back by Kelsey Clark. 

Next came a free throw by Addison West, followed with a layup by Massey. West ended the game with 22 points in the win.

Fairfield’s Kassi Miller answered with a two-point basket, cutting the FHS lead to 34-31, only to see the Lady Mustangs have Massey sink a jumper and West make a free throw for a 37-31 advantage with 5:11 left on the scoreboard. 

After two more points scored by LCHS, the Lady Mustangs saw Massey maneuver through the Fairfield defense and while in the paint score two points with 4:02 left in the quarter, giving the away team an eight-point lead, as that was the shot that allowed her to surpass the 1,000 points for a career.

“I’m super happy for her,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Whitney Lewis said. “She’s a kid that comes in every day to practice. It doesn't matter if it's a game, practice, scrimmage, what have you, she's going to play with that same mentality and get after it no matter what the situation is. She always seems to be on the floor doing something. 

“She's just one of the most athletic kids I think I've ever been around, and some of the things that she's able to do on the floor are pretty spectacular. I'm happy to see her get that recognition, and she's worked hard for it. She's earned that, and we've still got a half a season left, so I'm super excited about that, too.”

Following a stoppage in the game where Massey went to the stands to give the game ball to her family, LCHS went back to work by scoring 12 of the next 13 points in the quarter, building a 24-point lead at 58-34.

That span of scoring started with two points by Madison McMullen — who totaled 12 points for LCHS — followed by a three-point play and 3-pointer from West. FHS made a free throw with 1:28 on the clock, but the Lady Mustangs wrapped up the quarter scoring with two points from Macy Etienne and a 3-pointer by West. Etienne finished the game with 19 points.

Both Lewis and Fairfield head coach Jennifer Blue spoke about the third quarter as the turning point after the game.

“We talked at halftime about just about continuing to be the aggressor, keeping our foot on the gas and what we're supposed to do, but just being on the same page with each other,” Lewis said. “We made some mental mistakes there in that second quarter that I think cost us some buckets. I thought we were the aggressor for the first half, we just didn't finish some of those things. 

“In the second half, especially that third quarter, I thought we were able to do that. We changed up our defense a little bit, was able to get them to make some turnovers, and then on the other side of the ball, convert those turnovers into some easy points.

“We were able to kind of pull away and enforce our will there in that second half, specifically that third quarter, where we were kind of trapping and just turning the ball over and able to get some easy baskets,” Lewis continued. “When you get some easy baskets, all of a sudden that rim becomes a lot wider and easier to go in for some other shots.”

Blue said that having senior and leading scorer Faith Donley on the bench in foul trouble in the third hurt the team.

“That third quarter kind of killed us,” Blue said. “We lost Faith there — she got three quick fouls — and then we kind of just fell apart and stopped communicating, stopped moving the ball. You name it, we didn't do it. That's just where the inexperience hurt us a little bit, taking our senior off the floor and that leadership and things like that. We’ve just got to find somebody else to step up when she’s not able to be able on the floor.

“It’s growing pains. At one time I had freshmen and sophomores out there with Faith on the bench, and like one or two juniors. It’s just growing, and trying to reiterate to them time and time again on what to do, and just trying to get it in their head of what we're trying to do.”

The fourth quarter saw LCHS outscore the Lady Lions 13-12 with LC’s McMullen scoring six points off three baskets, Etienne scoring five points with a 3-pointer and two-point basket, plus Massey sinking one basket. 

Fairfield in the fourth quarter had seven points scored by Faith Donley off two baskets and three free throws. They also had a 3-pointer by Miller and a basket scored by Isabelle Hale. Donley totaled 17 points, while teammate Hale had 11 points in the game.

The two most competitive quarters played came in the first half as Fairfield held an 18-16 lead after the first quarter was completed, and at LC led 31-27 at halftime. 

In the opening quarter where 34 combined points were scored, LCHS scored first with two made free throws by West, but FHS answered with baskets by Miller and Donley, who connected with a jumper for a 5-2 advantage. 

West and Etienne put LCHS back in front with turnaround jumper by West and a 3-pointer by Etienne with 4:11 as the Lady Mustangs now led 7-5. That lead lasted around 30 seconds as Clark scored three points with a drive to the hoop and later a free throw on the ensuing possession for an 8-7 Fairfield lead.

After two points were scored by Massey, Donley scored four straight points off free throws and a steal and layup with 2:27 left in the opening frame for a 12-9 lead. LCHS got to within a point following two points in the paint by West, but Fairfield took the lead back fast with three made free throws by Miller with 1:43 left in the quarter for a 15-11 FHS lead.

Etienne brought the Lady Mustangs back to within a point of Fairfield with a 3-pointer, only to see Fairfield’s Hale sink a 3-pointer of her own. LC scored the final points of the first quarter with a jumper by West for the 18-16 score.

The score in the second quarter went from Fairfield leading by as many as three points, to ending with the Lady Mustangs holding a four-point lead at 31-27.

For FHS in the second, Donley scored four points, Clark — who finished with 10 points — had three points, and Jaeden Drury had two points. LCHS in the second had four points from Etienne, two points from Allie Waits, three points scored by West, Adilyn Carraher scoring two points and McMullen scoring four points in the frame. 

“[West] had a great game,” Lewis said. “Macy had a good shooting game, and she just kind of dictated there defensively and was able to get some easy buckets at the rim. Those easy shots turned into making more difficult shots a lot easier.

“It was a good way to finish off strong. We had a tough game on Monday against North Adams, a league opponent, and kind of let that slip between our fingers a little bit. They're practicing hard all week, trying to get better for this game and then for that second half of the season. We’re looking forward to seeing what that brings.”

The Lady Mustangs improve to 5-1 in the SHAC and 6-2 overall. Fairfield moves to 2-4 in the SHAC and 2-5 overall.

“Something these girls never do is they never give up,” Blue said. “They're not used to losing. They don't like it. I don't like it. It’s hard on them, and they get frustrated and stuff, but they still battle consistently, inside and out, every quarter. I can't ever fault them for that.

“[Underclassmen] are seeing a significant amount of minutes that they weren't expecting. Now they're being asked to step up. That's just a transition for them, and they can only make us better in the future.” 

BOX SCORE
LCHS  16 15 27 13 — 71
FHS    18 09 0712 — 46

LYNCHBURG-CLAY (71) — M.Etienne 5 (3) 0-0 19, A.Waits 1 (0) 0-0 2, A.West 5 (2) 6-9 22, J.Massey 7 (0) 0-1 14, A.Carraher 1 (0) 0-0 2, M.McMullen 6 (0) 0-0 12. TOTALS: 25 (5) 6-10 71.

FAIRFIELD (46) — I.Hale 1 (1) 0-2 5, J.Drury 1 (0) 1-1 3, R.Quickle 0 (0) 0-2 0, K.Miller 1 (2) 3-3 11, F.Donley 5 (0) 7-8 17, K.Clark 4 (0) 2-4 10. TOTALS: 12 (3) 13-21 46.