Lady Mustangs control tempo for win over McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — The Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs controlled the tempo the entire game, especially in the first half, as they continued their winning streak, defeating Highland County counterpart McClain, 55-44 Monday at LCHS.
The annual non-league contest was controlled by LC from the very start, as a 29-9 first-half advantage eventually led to the Lady Mustangs' 13th win of the season for an overall record of 13-2.
The win is also the Lady Mustangs' ninth consecutive victory. The game also brought LC senior Laney Lewis closer to 1,000 career points, as she is now 30 points away from the milestone after scoring 12 points in the win. Lewis collected a double-double by adding 11 rebounds, along with seven assists, five steals and three blocked shots.
LC led 9-2 after the first frame but broke away for a 20-7 second quarter for a halftime lead of 29-9.
"The first half, we had good offense and defense," LC head coach Whitney Lewis said. "Everyone contributed."
From there, LC kept their 20-point advantage by taking a 47-27 lead after three frames.
Getting to the third began with the aforementioned first frame with Emma Setty setting the tone by opening the game with a 3-pointer, followed by points by Lewis for a 5-0 lead. McClain's Tara Karnes followed with the lone bucket for the Lady Tigers in the first frame with 3:06 left in the quarter. MHS wouldn't score again until the 1:57 mark of the second frame.
LC ended the first with points from Lewis and Madysyn Creighton, as those points began a 16-0 run that turned into a lead of 22-2 with 2:37 left on the second-quarter clock.
Scoring in the 16-0 run during the second quarter were Sarah Rosselott (who led LC with 15 points), Lewis and Setty as Setty capped off the run with two free throws. Rosselott also finished with a double-double with 11 rebounds, while adding one steal and one blocked shot.
Following Rayburn's points, LC went back to adding to their lead as Ali Little and Ryleigh Jackson each added two points. Jackson had a season-high seven points on the night, while Setty also finished with seven points. Jackson added four rebounds and one steal. Setty added three rebounds, two steals and one block.
"Ryleigh and Sarah had big games for us and stepped up," Lewis said. "Ryleigh came off the bench and played very well, and this was Sarah's best game of the year.
"Again, defensively, I was pleased with the way we played in the first half, and we executed when we needed to.
"Defense is what we'll have to rely on, not only for the rest of the regular season, but in the tournament as well. I'm happy with the way our defense has played this late into the season."
[[In-content Ad]]Sarah Thompson knocked down a 3-pointer for the Lady Tigers, and Jackson answered with two points for LC. The final points of the first half were by Sydney Barton.
MHS (5-10) doubled their first-half scoring in the third quarter alone with Shania Massie joining the party. Massie was held scoreless in the first half but rallied back to finish with a game-high 17 points, 12 of which were scored in the third frame. Thompson (who totaled eight points) added two points in the third, while Katy Unger made one free throw in the quarter and Karnes added three in the same frame. Karnes ended with seven points.
"We put some things in last Thursday we could use not only against Miami Trace (the Lady Tigers' previous opponent), but also against Lynchburg-Clay," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "What we needed to do was keep them (LC) out of the paint, and we didn't do that so well.
"Laney (Lewis) makes things happen for them, and (Sarah) Rosselott came out and played well for them. We didn't do a good job defensively … we were scrambling as they went to the paint."
The LC third quarter had the same amount of scoring, as they added 18 points to their total. Little scored five points in the quarter, including a 3-pointer, while Lewis added five points, Rosselott scored six and Shelby Stewart sank a field goal for two points.
With LC having the game well in hand, MHS outscored the host team, 17-8. For MHS in the fourth, Rayburn, Massie, Thompson (who added her second 3-pointer of the game), Unger, Caitlyn Lovett, Haylee Turner and Karnes all collected points. The LC fourth-quarter scoring consisted of points by Creighton, Lewis, Rosselott and Jackson.
Also for Lynchburg in the win, Ginny Gadzinski added two rebounds and two steals. Sarah Spidel grabbed one rebound, and Morgan Fittro collected two rebounds and one assist.
MHS ended the game 14-of-26 from the free-throw line, while LC was 19-of-27.
In JV play, the Lady Mustangs defeated MHS, 35-16. Leading LC were Madison Wills with 10 points and Bailey Leininger with eight. For MHS, their leading scorer was Sydney Brill with eight points.
LC will play again at home this Thursday, Jan. 17 as they host Ripley in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference game, with JV starting at 6 p.m.
MHS is scheduled to face Clinton-Massie, on the road, on Jan. 19.
The annual non-league contest was controlled by LC from the very start, as a 29-9 first-half advantage eventually led to the Lady Mustangs' 13th win of the season for an overall record of 13-2.
The win is also the Lady Mustangs' ninth consecutive victory. The game also brought LC senior Laney Lewis closer to 1,000 career points, as she is now 30 points away from the milestone after scoring 12 points in the win. Lewis collected a double-double by adding 11 rebounds, along with seven assists, five steals and three blocked shots.
LC led 9-2 after the first frame but broke away for a 20-7 second quarter for a halftime lead of 29-9.
"The first half, we had good offense and defense," LC head coach Whitney Lewis said. "Everyone contributed."
From there, LC kept their 20-point advantage by taking a 47-27 lead after three frames.
Getting to the third began with the aforementioned first frame with Emma Setty setting the tone by opening the game with a 3-pointer, followed by points by Lewis for a 5-0 lead. McClain's Tara Karnes followed with the lone bucket for the Lady Tigers in the first frame with 3:06 left in the quarter. MHS wouldn't score again until the 1:57 mark of the second frame.
LC ended the first with points from Lewis and Madysyn Creighton, as those points began a 16-0 run that turned into a lead of 22-2 with 2:37 left on the second-quarter clock.
Scoring in the 16-0 run during the second quarter were Sarah Rosselott (who led LC with 15 points), Lewis and Setty as Setty capped off the run with two free throws. Rosselott also finished with a double-double with 11 rebounds, while adding one steal and one blocked shot.
Following Rayburn's points, LC went back to adding to their lead as Ali Little and Ryleigh Jackson each added two points. Jackson had a season-high seven points on the night, while Setty also finished with seven points. Jackson added four rebounds and one steal. Setty added three rebounds, two steals and one block.
"Ryleigh and Sarah had big games for us and stepped up," Lewis said. "Ryleigh came off the bench and played very well, and this was Sarah's best game of the year.
"Again, defensively, I was pleased with the way we played in the first half, and we executed when we needed to.
"Defense is what we'll have to rely on, not only for the rest of the regular season, but in the tournament as well. I'm happy with the way our defense has played this late into the season."
[[In-content Ad]]Sarah Thompson knocked down a 3-pointer for the Lady Tigers, and Jackson answered with two points for LC. The final points of the first half were by Sydney Barton.
MHS (5-10) doubled their first-half scoring in the third quarter alone with Shania Massie joining the party. Massie was held scoreless in the first half but rallied back to finish with a game-high 17 points, 12 of which were scored in the third frame. Thompson (who totaled eight points) added two points in the third, while Katy Unger made one free throw in the quarter and Karnes added three in the same frame. Karnes ended with seven points.
"We put some things in last Thursday we could use not only against Miami Trace (the Lady Tigers' previous opponent), but also against Lynchburg-Clay," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "What we needed to do was keep them (LC) out of the paint, and we didn't do that so well.
"Laney (Lewis) makes things happen for them, and (Sarah) Rosselott came out and played well for them. We didn't do a good job defensively … we were scrambling as they went to the paint."
The LC third quarter had the same amount of scoring, as they added 18 points to their total. Little scored five points in the quarter, including a 3-pointer, while Lewis added five points, Rosselott scored six and Shelby Stewart sank a field goal for two points.
With LC having the game well in hand, MHS outscored the host team, 17-8. For MHS in the fourth, Rayburn, Massie, Thompson (who added her second 3-pointer of the game), Unger, Caitlyn Lovett, Haylee Turner and Karnes all collected points. The LC fourth-quarter scoring consisted of points by Creighton, Lewis, Rosselott and Jackson.
Also for Lynchburg in the win, Ginny Gadzinski added two rebounds and two steals. Sarah Spidel grabbed one rebound, and Morgan Fittro collected two rebounds and one assist.
MHS ended the game 14-of-26 from the free-throw line, while LC was 19-of-27.
In JV play, the Lady Mustangs defeated MHS, 35-16. Leading LC were Madison Wills with 10 points and Bailey Leininger with eight. For MHS, their leading scorer was Sydney Brill with eight points.
LC will play again at home this Thursday, Jan. 17 as they host Ripley in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference game, with JV starting at 6 p.m.
MHS is scheduled to face Clinton-Massie, on the road, on Jan. 19.