Lady Mustangs are sectional champions once again

LUCASVILLE — Following a first half that wasn't up to the usual standards played by Lynchburg-Clay, they came out of the locker room a new team, as the Lady Mustangs took down Huntington for a second consecutive sectional title on Sunday night by a 51-36 score.

Playing in the nightcap on Sunday evening at Valley High School, the No. 3 seeded Lady Mustangs were tied at 18 after two complete quarters with the No. 6 seeded Huntington squad.

Not only did LC tie with HHS in the first half, they actually trailed by an 18-9 score with 2:40 left in the frame, only to have LC go on a 9-0 run to end the second quarter.

Before the second frame, LC trailed 11-6 after the first quarter was complete, only to eventually get into the aforementioned nine-point deficit. That all changed with Vanessa Thiel scoring on a put-back bucket, followed by a free throw from Ali Little.

"We picked up our intensity level from the first half to the second half, and that made a huge difference," LC head coach Whitney Lewis said. "They (HHS) controlled the momentum and tempo in the first half. We switched to a man (defense), and that seemed to help out and speed the game up more than they wanted.

"Anytime we speed the game up, that works to our advantage, and I'm glad we were able to do that."

After those points, McKayla Binkley brought LC to within four points of tying the score with a two-point bucket, which was followed by a 3-pointer from twin sister Hannah Binkley at the 1:01 mark of the frame.

Lexi Waits sank a free throw with 24 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the score at 18 points. Also scoring points in the second was Madison Wills.

The third frame was where LC showed why they were seeded No. 3, starting the quarter with seven consecutive points, including a 3-pointer from McKayla Binkley less than 30 seconds into the quarter. Binkley finished with nine points.

Morgan Fittro, who finished with 13 points, followed with two free throws, and Binkley again scored points, this time with a steal and jumper off the glass and through the hoop for a 25-18 advantage with 5:05 on the third-quarter clock.

Following two points by HHS, LC answered with a 3-pointer by Fittro, then two points by Little and another two points by Fittro, putting LC ahead 32-20.

Little led LC in scoring with 14 points.

HHS ended the quarter in their favor, outscoring the Lady Mustangs, 6-2.

LC had the game well in hand to start the fourth, but this time it was Hannah Binkley who sank a 3-pointer to start the scoring, 15 seconds into the final frame of regulation.

After four straight points by the Lady Huntsmen, LC came back with three points from Waits and a free throw by Little for a 41-30 lead with 4:48 left in the quarter.

From there, it was smooth sailing to the district round of the tournament, with Waits, Fittro, Little and Hannah Binkley adding the final points to the LC side of the scoreboard. Hannah Binkley totaled eight points in the win.

"At halftime, we talked about efficiency with our offense," Lewis said. "Offensively, we hit a couple shots to start the second half and did much better than what we did in the first half.

"We did a better job of finishing our shots in the second half."

Leading HHS in scoring was Ariel Sams with 17 points (five 3-pointers), followed by Caralene Cox with seven.

At the free-throw line, LC was 7-of-23, while HHS was 2-of-4.

LC will play No. 2 seeded Alexander in the district semifinals at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Waverly High School.

"Waverly is always a fun place to play at in the district, and hopefully we can get some practice in this week and be ready to go against our opponent," Lewis said.