Early struggles end McClain's season in districts
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — The McClain Lady Tigers were never fully able to overcome turnovers in the first half, along with an early deficit, ending their season on Saturday afternoon in a 55-47 loss to the Marietta Lady Tigers in the Division II SE District semifinals at Southeastern High School.
Following a first half where McClain (15-7) trailed by 10 points at 30-20, McClain never got back to any closer than six points of tying the score, as Marietta (18-4) converted free throws when needed, along with taking advantage of McClain turnovers and missed shots under the hoop in clutch situations.
McClain also battled foul trouble in the second half, with three players fouling out. This season, MHS didn't have three players foul out all season combined.
Though the Lady Tigers kept Marietta junior and 1,000-plus point scorer Erica Dawson to just four field goals, she did convert 16 free throws. Her teammates more than filled in with scoring and defense to keep the Marietta season alive.
Dawson, though she had just the four shots converted from the field, led all scorers with 24 points, going 16-of-19 from the free-throw line, along with the aforementioned four two-point baskets. She was followed by Amanda Brown with 16 points, scoring 11 points in the second quarter.
"We held Dawson to four field goals, and the rest of her points came from the line, and most of those came in the fourth quarter," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "(Marietta) did what they needed to do and got her the ball at the end of the ball game, when we needed to try to get the ball back.
"Probably the biggest thing was right at the beginning of the game when they jumped out to their lead, and we never got over that. Our execution was pretty good … we knew we couldn't outscore them, so defensively we knew we had to hold them down. When you get to that point, where you have to push and always working up from a deficit, it makes it hard to execute a game plan, but I thought the girls did a nice job."
McClain finished with 20 turnovers, while Marietta had 10 … the difference was Marietta took advantage of the breakdowns, scoring points in the field or scoring on an ensuing foul as Marietta was 20-of-33.
"We told the girls in the locker room, they bought into the game plan and we couldn't have asked them to do any more that what they did," Overstake said. "We just didn't get shots to fall … we took the ball inside where we needed to get it, and we couldn't get some of the shots to fall, and that was a big difference in the game."
The game opened up with Marietta going on a 9-2 run in the game's first three minutes, including five points by Dawson, including three free throws on the same trip of the free-throw line. The other four points came from Kristen Hill.
Senior Jenna Perie scored the first four points by McClain, but Marietta and McClain ended the first quarter with each scoring eight points in the final 4:20. For McClain, Taylor Faulconer sank a 3-pointer, but Marietta scored multiple points off McClain turnovers for a 17-12 lead after eight minutes.
The second quarter began slowly for both squads, but once the scoring got started it was Marietta who got the upper hand, scoring seven straight points off either a McClain missed shot or turnover for a 24-12 lead with 5:41 left in the second.
Kate Crabtree ended the run of Marietta with two points for the Lady Tigers, but MHS just couldn't keep control of the basketball, committing three more turnovers in a span of just over a minute, and Marietta eventually capitalized by taking a 14-point lead with 2:27 left in the opening half.
McClain did rally back with four points by Tara Karnes and a layup from Perie with 46 seconds left in the second, but a jumper with 30 seconds remaining by Marietta ended the first-half scoring with the Lady Tigers of Marietta leading 30-20. Perie and Karnes each scored 10 points.
[[In-content Ad]]After both teams combined for 21 turnovers in the first half, both teams continued to use defense to their advantage with McClain outscoring Marietta 9-8, as Marietta finished the third quarter at 38-29.
For McClain in the third, Shania Massie sank a 3-pointer, Perie scored four points and Crabtree added two points for the nine-point quarter. Massie led McClain with 12 points, scoring 10 in the second half.
In the fourth, McClain added 18 points, but Marietta kept them at bay of getting any closer than six points of their lead by scoring 17 points in the fourth.
For Marietta in the fourth, Dawson scored 13 points in the quarter, all from the free-throw line. Also scoring for Marietta in the final eight minutes were Taylor Smith, Lain Weppler and Brown.
For McClain, their fourth was led by Massie with seven points, along with five points by Karnes and two points each from Sammy Rooks, Taylor Faulconer and Brittany Mullikin.
In the fourth, Massie got McClain within six points of tying the score by sinking a 3-pointer with 59.2 left in regulation.
Overstake spoke about the defense of Massie and Taylor Faulconer.
"Taylor and Shania have done an excellent job the last few ball games defending the opponent's top scorers," he said. "Taylor, at the end of the year, became our defensive stopper."
Playing their final game for McClain were Sammy Rooks, Taylor Faulconer, Kate Crabtree, Kaitlyn Faulconer, Brittany Mullikin and Jenna Perie.
"As a group, they've been together since the third grade, and they are probably different than a lot of groups," Overstake said. "Here they are … they are all here. They all stayed together, they are a close group.
"Hopefully the younger kids learned from them. They took in our younger kids and made them a part of their group."
No. 1-seeded Marietta will play again on Saturday, March 3 when they face No. 2-seeded Washington at 12 p.m. at SEHS in a district final. In the other SEHS district final, No. 1-seeded Miami Trace will play No. 2-seeded Warren at 3:30 p.m. following the WCH/Marietta game.
GAME NOTES: Marietta totaled 11 rebounds, five steals and three assists … McClain totaled 12 rebounds, one blocked shot, one taken charge (Perie), three steals and five assists ... McClain shot 17-of-47 for 36 percent from the field ... Marietta shot 18-of-36 for 50 percent from the field.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MC 12 08 09 18 — 47
MA 17 13 08 17 — 55
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MA (55)
L.Barton 0 (0) 0-2 0
T.Smith 1 (0) 1-3 3
L.Weppler 1 (0) 2-6 4
A.Brown 6 (1) 1-2 16
E.Dawson 4 (0) 16-19 24
K.Hill 4 (0) 0-1 8
TOTALS: 16 (1) 20-33 55
MC (47)
S.Rooks 2 (0) 0-1 4
T.Faulconer 1 (1) 0-0 5
S.Massie 2 (2) 3-4 12
K.Crabtree 2 (0) 0-0 4
B.Mullikin 0 (0) 2-2 2
J.Perie 5 (0) 0-0 10
T.Karnes 3 (0) 4-6 10
TOTALS: 15 (3) 8-12 47
Following a first half where McClain (15-7) trailed by 10 points at 30-20, McClain never got back to any closer than six points of tying the score, as Marietta (18-4) converted free throws when needed, along with taking advantage of McClain turnovers and missed shots under the hoop in clutch situations.
McClain also battled foul trouble in the second half, with three players fouling out. This season, MHS didn't have three players foul out all season combined.
Though the Lady Tigers kept Marietta junior and 1,000-plus point scorer Erica Dawson to just four field goals, she did convert 16 free throws. Her teammates more than filled in with scoring and defense to keep the Marietta season alive.
Dawson, though she had just the four shots converted from the field, led all scorers with 24 points, going 16-of-19 from the free-throw line, along with the aforementioned four two-point baskets. She was followed by Amanda Brown with 16 points, scoring 11 points in the second quarter.
"We held Dawson to four field goals, and the rest of her points came from the line, and most of those came in the fourth quarter," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "(Marietta) did what they needed to do and got her the ball at the end of the ball game, when we needed to try to get the ball back.
"Probably the biggest thing was right at the beginning of the game when they jumped out to their lead, and we never got over that. Our execution was pretty good … we knew we couldn't outscore them, so defensively we knew we had to hold them down. When you get to that point, where you have to push and always working up from a deficit, it makes it hard to execute a game plan, but I thought the girls did a nice job."
McClain finished with 20 turnovers, while Marietta had 10 … the difference was Marietta took advantage of the breakdowns, scoring points in the field or scoring on an ensuing foul as Marietta was 20-of-33.
"We told the girls in the locker room, they bought into the game plan and we couldn't have asked them to do any more that what they did," Overstake said. "We just didn't get shots to fall … we took the ball inside where we needed to get it, and we couldn't get some of the shots to fall, and that was a big difference in the game."
The game opened up with Marietta going on a 9-2 run in the game's first three minutes, including five points by Dawson, including three free throws on the same trip of the free-throw line. The other four points came from Kristen Hill.
Senior Jenna Perie scored the first four points by McClain, but Marietta and McClain ended the first quarter with each scoring eight points in the final 4:20. For McClain, Taylor Faulconer sank a 3-pointer, but Marietta scored multiple points off McClain turnovers for a 17-12 lead after eight minutes.
The second quarter began slowly for both squads, but once the scoring got started it was Marietta who got the upper hand, scoring seven straight points off either a McClain missed shot or turnover for a 24-12 lead with 5:41 left in the second.
Kate Crabtree ended the run of Marietta with two points for the Lady Tigers, but MHS just couldn't keep control of the basketball, committing three more turnovers in a span of just over a minute, and Marietta eventually capitalized by taking a 14-point lead with 2:27 left in the opening half.
McClain did rally back with four points by Tara Karnes and a layup from Perie with 46 seconds left in the second, but a jumper with 30 seconds remaining by Marietta ended the first-half scoring with the Lady Tigers of Marietta leading 30-20. Perie and Karnes each scored 10 points.
[[In-content Ad]]After both teams combined for 21 turnovers in the first half, both teams continued to use defense to their advantage with McClain outscoring Marietta 9-8, as Marietta finished the third quarter at 38-29.
For McClain in the third, Shania Massie sank a 3-pointer, Perie scored four points and Crabtree added two points for the nine-point quarter. Massie led McClain with 12 points, scoring 10 in the second half.
In the fourth, McClain added 18 points, but Marietta kept them at bay of getting any closer than six points of their lead by scoring 17 points in the fourth.
For Marietta in the fourth, Dawson scored 13 points in the quarter, all from the free-throw line. Also scoring for Marietta in the final eight minutes were Taylor Smith, Lain Weppler and Brown.
For McClain, their fourth was led by Massie with seven points, along with five points by Karnes and two points each from Sammy Rooks, Taylor Faulconer and Brittany Mullikin.
In the fourth, Massie got McClain within six points of tying the score by sinking a 3-pointer with 59.2 left in regulation.
Overstake spoke about the defense of Massie and Taylor Faulconer.
"Taylor and Shania have done an excellent job the last few ball games defending the opponent's top scorers," he said. "Taylor, at the end of the year, became our defensive stopper."
Playing their final game for McClain were Sammy Rooks, Taylor Faulconer, Kate Crabtree, Kaitlyn Faulconer, Brittany Mullikin and Jenna Perie.
"As a group, they've been together since the third grade, and they are probably different than a lot of groups," Overstake said. "Here they are … they are all here. They all stayed together, they are a close group.
"Hopefully the younger kids learned from them. They took in our younger kids and made them a part of their group."
No. 1-seeded Marietta will play again on Saturday, March 3 when they face No. 2-seeded Washington at 12 p.m. at SEHS in a district final. In the other SEHS district final, No. 1-seeded Miami Trace will play No. 2-seeded Warren at 3:30 p.m. following the WCH/Marietta game.
GAME NOTES: Marietta totaled 11 rebounds, five steals and three assists … McClain totaled 12 rebounds, one blocked shot, one taken charge (Perie), three steals and five assists ... McClain shot 17-of-47 for 36 percent from the field ... Marietta shot 18-of-36 for 50 percent from the field.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MC 12 08 09 18 — 47
MA 17 13 08 17 — 55
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MA (55)
L.Barton 0 (0) 0-2 0
T.Smith 1 (0) 1-3 3
L.Weppler 1 (0) 2-6 4
A.Brown 6 (1) 1-2 16
E.Dawson 4 (0) 16-19 24
K.Hill 4 (0) 0-1 8
TOTALS: 16 (1) 20-33 55
MC (47)
S.Rooks 2 (0) 0-1 4
T.Faulconer 1 (1) 0-0 5
S.Massie 2 (2) 3-4 12
K.Crabtree 2 (0) 0-0 4
B.Mullikin 0 (0) 2-2 2
J.Perie 5 (0) 0-0 10
T.Karnes 3 (0) 4-6 10
TOTALS: 15 (3) 8-12 47