Defense leads to 3rd win by Lady Tigers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said following their game that the McClain Lady Tigers defeated the Unioto Lady Shermans, 49-40 Thursday evening with their defense, and he was correct in his assessment.
The non-league game with the Lady Shermans was the annual physical battle where both teams gave the gym an atmosphere of a postseason game. This game, the Lady Tigers (3-3) left the court as the victors as they outscored the Lady Shermans, 9-2 in the final 2:22, including a run of 7-0 in the final 1:19 of the fourth quarter.
"This was a game of right hooks and left hooks," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "We went back and forth, but with 2:00 to go, we gave our left hook and finished the job.
"This is always a physical game, but it is a fun game to be a part of. Unioto is well coached. Our defense won this game, and we pride ourselves with our defense. We made some mistakes early on, but we fixed them in the second half."
[[In-content Ad]]In the aforementioned fourth frame, the Lady Tigers began the final eight minutes with a two-point lead at 36-34, and for nearly four minutes into the fourth, neither team was able to add to their total.
MHS broke the trend with 4:08 left in regulation when Tara Karnes scored two points on a put-back bucket for the four-point lead. Karnes finished the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. For good measure, Karnes added four rebounds.
UHS (4-2) answered with two points of their own and twice more in the fourth made it a two-point game when MHS led 42-40 with 2:12 left in the game.
Then came the final 1:19 of the game where Taylor Polley, Shania Massie and Karnes combined for the final seven points.
Massie led all scorers with a game-high 19 points, as she was 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Massie added seven steals and six rebounds.
"Shania made things happen," Haines said. "Katy and Tara, they rebounded so much better in the second half. At halftime, I challenged Katy, and she stepped up.
"Taylor had a great first half defensively against one of their better players. Then we put Lauren (Rayburn) on her and finished with Shania on defense, and they all did a great job."
As for the opening stages of the game, MHS led 10-8 following the first quarter with Unger, Polley, Karnes and Massie combining for the 10 points. MHS added 18 points in the second to take a halftime lead of 28-21 following 13 points in the second by UHS.
UHS outscored the host Lady Tigers, 13-8 in the third. The biggest moment for MHS in the third was at the buzzer with Rayburn draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put MHS ahead 36-34.
Leading UHS was Alexis Overlay with 13 points as she went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Tori Cox followed with 11 points.
For the game, MHS was 12-of-20 from the free-throw line, while UHS was 10-of-13.
MHS will play again on Saturday, Dec. 14 when they travel to play in a South Central Ohio League game against Highland County rival Hillsboro.
In JV play, MHS defeated UHS, 30-26. MHS was led by Sara Bennett with 10 points.
The non-league game with the Lady Shermans was the annual physical battle where both teams gave the gym an atmosphere of a postseason game. This game, the Lady Tigers (3-3) left the court as the victors as they outscored the Lady Shermans, 9-2 in the final 2:22, including a run of 7-0 in the final 1:19 of the fourth quarter.
"This was a game of right hooks and left hooks," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "We went back and forth, but with 2:00 to go, we gave our left hook and finished the job.
"This is always a physical game, but it is a fun game to be a part of. Unioto is well coached. Our defense won this game, and we pride ourselves with our defense. We made some mistakes early on, but we fixed them in the second half."
[[In-content Ad]]In the aforementioned fourth frame, the Lady Tigers began the final eight minutes with a two-point lead at 36-34, and for nearly four minutes into the fourth, neither team was able to add to their total.
MHS broke the trend with 4:08 left in regulation when Tara Karnes scored two points on a put-back bucket for the four-point lead. Karnes finished the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. For good measure, Karnes added four rebounds.
UHS (4-2) answered with two points of their own and twice more in the fourth made it a two-point game when MHS led 42-40 with 2:12 left in the game.
Then came the final 1:19 of the game where Taylor Polley, Shania Massie and Karnes combined for the final seven points.
Massie led all scorers with a game-high 19 points, as she was 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Massie added seven steals and six rebounds.
"Shania made things happen," Haines said. "Katy and Tara, they rebounded so much better in the second half. At halftime, I challenged Katy, and she stepped up.
"Taylor had a great first half defensively against one of their better players. Then we put Lauren (Rayburn) on her and finished with Shania on defense, and they all did a great job."
As for the opening stages of the game, MHS led 10-8 following the first quarter with Unger, Polley, Karnes and Massie combining for the 10 points. MHS added 18 points in the second to take a halftime lead of 28-21 following 13 points in the second by UHS.
UHS outscored the host Lady Tigers, 13-8 in the third. The biggest moment for MHS in the third was at the buzzer with Rayburn draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put MHS ahead 36-34.
Leading UHS was Alexis Overlay with 13 points as she went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Tori Cox followed with 11 points.
For the game, MHS was 12-of-20 from the free-throw line, while UHS was 10-of-13.
MHS will play again on Saturday, Dec. 14 when they travel to play in a South Central Ohio League game against Highland County rival Hillsboro.
In JV play, MHS defeated UHS, 30-26. MHS was led by Sara Bennett with 10 points.