Lady Mustangs snap Georgetown's 45-game regular season winning streak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — This time the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs finished what they started. From the 3:19 mark of the second quarter until the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Mustangs didn't trail, which led them to a 49-45 non-league win over Division III No. 7 state-ranked Georgetown, Monday evening at Lynchburg-Clay High School.
And who says Mondays are no fun?
LC also accomplished something no team has done since Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009, and that is defeat the Lady G-Men in a regular season contest, breaking a 45-game regular-season winning streak as Georgetown has finished 19-1 and 20-0 the past two regular seasons. Overall (including postseason) in the past three seasons, Georgetown is 59-4. The loss to LC sends them to 13-1 overall this season, as they stay 6-0 in the Southern Buckeye Conference.
"This was a great game … especially after a tough loss against North Adams," LC head coach Whitney Lewis said. "We fell apart in the fourth quarter in that game, so to come out here and play a Georgetown team, that's a huge win for us.
"I can't even put into words how big of a win this is for us. In terms of confidence for our team, especially headed into tournament play … it's big."
The Lady Mustangs took their first lead with 7:14 left in the second for a 13-12 advantage off two free throws by senior Brooke Hertlein, and again with a jumper by Hertlein with 5:23 left in the second.
LC took the lead for good with 3:19 left in the first half when freshman Morgan Fittro connected from beyond the arc with a 3-pointer for a LC lead of 22-19.
After that, though, it was close at times (Georgetown got within one point of tying the game), the Lady Mustangs (10-5) didn't trail for the remainder of the game as the Lady G-Men had a final opportunity to win the game with LC ahead by two points, with around 14 seconds left in regulation, but a three-point attempt by junior Jesse Kidwell (who averaged 17.3 ppg entering Monday) was blocked by Hertlein, and LC junior Laney Lewis scooped up the loose ball.
Kidwell finished the game with a team-high 12 points, as did teammate Madison Pack.
Hertlein led all scorers with a game-high 16 points, including two third-quarter 3-pointers. Lewis followed with 13 points, and Setty added 10 points. Also scoring for LC were Fittro with six points and Karen Hilt with four.
Lewis and Hertlein earned double-doubles. Hertlein added 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals. Lewis had 11 rebounds (nine offensive).
It is of note the Lady G-Men did play without their second-leading scorer in senior Casey Carter, who suffered a broken thumb the game following her scoring the 1,000th point of her career, as this was the second game she's missed this season. Carter was averaging 16.9 point per game before the injury.
LC took full advantage of the incomplete lineup of the Lady G-Men, but it took over a quarter to do so as LC trailed by three points following the first frame and took the lead with the aforementioned 3-pointer by Fittro, who 24 seconds before tied the game at 19 with a jumper. The five-point spurt by Fittro, followed by a layup by Lewis, a corner jumper by Emma Setty and jumper from Hertlein gave LC a 11-1 run in a span of three minutes, putting LC ahead at the half at 28-22.
"We came out slow on offense, and we struggled at times to take care of the basketball," Lewis said. "At the beginning of the game we turned over the ball four times in a row, but we finished the fourth quarter strong.
"When they started pressuring us, we took care of the ball."
[[In-content Ad]]Georgetown cut the LC lead to five points with 6:10 left in the third, but it was Hertlein who knocked down two 3-pointers in a span of just over a minute to put LC ahead 36-25.
G-Town continued to chip away at the lead of the LC, eventually making it a 40-37 score with 1:17 left in the quarter.
Though the Lady G-Men outscored LC 15-14 in the third and made it a three-point game to start the final quarter off two free throws from Hannah Jones, LC didn't flinch … no, this time they finished, rebounding from a forgettable fourth quarter one game ago in a loss to North Adams.
This time, LC answered the Lady G-Men points with a put-back basket by Lewis. Following a span of three straight turnovers combined by both teams, Georgetown cut the LC lead to three points (44-41) off a finger roll bucket from Madison Pack. Again after points by Setty, the Lady G-Men scored four straight points, making it a one-point game with 1:06 left on the clock.
The Lady G-Men were forced to foul, and Fittro made the front end of a one-and-one at the line, teetering on the first attempt as she took the off-balanced shot.
"Morgan came off the bench for us and played really, really well for us," Lewis said. "She made some clutch shots when we needed them."
With 17 seconds on the clock, the Lady G-Men took possession of the ball on an inbounds pass, but that's when Hertlein slammed the ball on a block that eventually sealed the win, as Lewis scored the final points with consecutive free-throw conversions.
"We told the girls in the huddle at the end to make sure no threes got off, and Brooke listened because she got the length and she's not going to let that shot get off," Lewis said. "We got the rebound, and Laney finished it on the line for us. That was big."
LC will play again on Thursday, Jan. 26 as they will host Whiteoak, with JV starting at 6 p.m.
In JV play, the Lady G-Men defeated LC 43-35. Leading LC was Sarah Rosselott with 18 points.
GAME NOTES: Entering Monday's game, G-Town averaged 58.8 ppg and allowed 35.8 ppg as LC scored more points than any other team against G-Men this season … Entering Monday, the Lady G-Men had outscored their opponents 765-465 … Entering Monday, LC had outscored their opponents 717-544 and averaged 51.9 ppg, while allowing 38.9 ppg … Georgetown was a member of the SHL until they left in 1997 … LC totaled 11 fouls … GHS totaled 13 fouls … GHS was 10-of-14 from the free-throw line … LC was 8-of-12 from the free-throw line ... LC totaled eight assists, 11 steals, 30 rebounds (17 offensive) and five blocked shots ... LC committed 20 turnovers.
BOX SCORE
GHS 12 10 15 08 — 45
LC 09 19 14 07 — 49
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LC (49)
M.Fittro 1 (1) 1-2 6
K.Hilt 2 (0) 0-0 4
L.Lewis 4 (0) 5-6 13
B.Hertlein 5 (2) 0-0 16
E.Setty 4 (0) 2-4 10
TOTALS: 16 (3) 8-12 49
GHS (45)
M.Hatfield 2 (1) 0-0 7
A.Smith 1 (0) 0-0 2
K.Carrington 2 (0) 1-3 5
J.Kidwell 5 (0) 2-3 12
H.Jones 2 (0) 3-4 7
M.Pack 4 (0) 4-4 12
TOTALS: 16 (1) 10-14 45
And who says Mondays are no fun?
LC also accomplished something no team has done since Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009, and that is defeat the Lady G-Men in a regular season contest, breaking a 45-game regular-season winning streak as Georgetown has finished 19-1 and 20-0 the past two regular seasons. Overall (including postseason) in the past three seasons, Georgetown is 59-4. The loss to LC sends them to 13-1 overall this season, as they stay 6-0 in the Southern Buckeye Conference.
"This was a great game … especially after a tough loss against North Adams," LC head coach Whitney Lewis said. "We fell apart in the fourth quarter in that game, so to come out here and play a Georgetown team, that's a huge win for us.
"I can't even put into words how big of a win this is for us. In terms of confidence for our team, especially headed into tournament play … it's big."
The Lady Mustangs took their first lead with 7:14 left in the second for a 13-12 advantage off two free throws by senior Brooke Hertlein, and again with a jumper by Hertlein with 5:23 left in the second.
LC took the lead for good with 3:19 left in the first half when freshman Morgan Fittro connected from beyond the arc with a 3-pointer for a LC lead of 22-19.
After that, though, it was close at times (Georgetown got within one point of tying the game), the Lady Mustangs (10-5) didn't trail for the remainder of the game as the Lady G-Men had a final opportunity to win the game with LC ahead by two points, with around 14 seconds left in regulation, but a three-point attempt by junior Jesse Kidwell (who averaged 17.3 ppg entering Monday) was blocked by Hertlein, and LC junior Laney Lewis scooped up the loose ball.
Kidwell finished the game with a team-high 12 points, as did teammate Madison Pack.
Hertlein led all scorers with a game-high 16 points, including two third-quarter 3-pointers. Lewis followed with 13 points, and Setty added 10 points. Also scoring for LC were Fittro with six points and Karen Hilt with four.
Lewis and Hertlein earned double-doubles. Hertlein added 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals. Lewis had 11 rebounds (nine offensive).
It is of note the Lady G-Men did play without their second-leading scorer in senior Casey Carter, who suffered a broken thumb the game following her scoring the 1,000th point of her career, as this was the second game she's missed this season. Carter was averaging 16.9 point per game before the injury.
LC took full advantage of the incomplete lineup of the Lady G-Men, but it took over a quarter to do so as LC trailed by three points following the first frame and took the lead with the aforementioned 3-pointer by Fittro, who 24 seconds before tied the game at 19 with a jumper. The five-point spurt by Fittro, followed by a layup by Lewis, a corner jumper by Emma Setty and jumper from Hertlein gave LC a 11-1 run in a span of three minutes, putting LC ahead at the half at 28-22.
"We came out slow on offense, and we struggled at times to take care of the basketball," Lewis said. "At the beginning of the game we turned over the ball four times in a row, but we finished the fourth quarter strong.
"When they started pressuring us, we took care of the ball."
[[In-content Ad]]Georgetown cut the LC lead to five points with 6:10 left in the third, but it was Hertlein who knocked down two 3-pointers in a span of just over a minute to put LC ahead 36-25.
G-Town continued to chip away at the lead of the LC, eventually making it a 40-37 score with 1:17 left in the quarter.
Though the Lady G-Men outscored LC 15-14 in the third and made it a three-point game to start the final quarter off two free throws from Hannah Jones, LC didn't flinch … no, this time they finished, rebounding from a forgettable fourth quarter one game ago in a loss to North Adams.
This time, LC answered the Lady G-Men points with a put-back basket by Lewis. Following a span of three straight turnovers combined by both teams, Georgetown cut the LC lead to three points (44-41) off a finger roll bucket from Madison Pack. Again after points by Setty, the Lady G-Men scored four straight points, making it a one-point game with 1:06 left on the clock.
The Lady G-Men were forced to foul, and Fittro made the front end of a one-and-one at the line, teetering on the first attempt as she took the off-balanced shot.
"Morgan came off the bench for us and played really, really well for us," Lewis said. "She made some clutch shots when we needed them."
With 17 seconds on the clock, the Lady G-Men took possession of the ball on an inbounds pass, but that's when Hertlein slammed the ball on a block that eventually sealed the win, as Lewis scored the final points with consecutive free-throw conversions.
"We told the girls in the huddle at the end to make sure no threes got off, and Brooke listened because she got the length and she's not going to let that shot get off," Lewis said. "We got the rebound, and Laney finished it on the line for us. That was big."
LC will play again on Thursday, Jan. 26 as they will host Whiteoak, with JV starting at 6 p.m.
In JV play, the Lady G-Men defeated LC 43-35. Leading LC was Sarah Rosselott with 18 points.
GAME NOTES: Entering Monday's game, G-Town averaged 58.8 ppg and allowed 35.8 ppg as LC scored more points than any other team against G-Men this season … Entering Monday, the Lady G-Men had outscored their opponents 765-465 … Entering Monday, LC had outscored their opponents 717-544 and averaged 51.9 ppg, while allowing 38.9 ppg … Georgetown was a member of the SHL until they left in 1997 … LC totaled 11 fouls … GHS totaled 13 fouls … GHS was 10-of-14 from the free-throw line … LC was 8-of-12 from the free-throw line ... LC totaled eight assists, 11 steals, 30 rebounds (17 offensive) and five blocked shots ... LC committed 20 turnovers.
BOX SCORE
GHS 12 10 15 08 — 45
LC 09 19 14 07 — 49
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LC (49)
M.Fittro 1 (1) 1-2 6
K.Hilt 2 (0) 0-0 4
L.Lewis 4 (0) 5-6 13
B.Hertlein 5 (2) 0-0 16
E.Setty 4 (0) 2-4 10
TOTALS: 16 (3) 8-12 49
GHS (45)
M.Hatfield 2 (1) 0-0 7
A.Smith 1 (0) 0-0 2
K.Carrington 2 (0) 1-3 5
J.Kidwell 5 (0) 2-3 12
H.Jones 2 (0) 3-4 7
M.Pack 4 (0) 4-4 12
TOTALS: 16 (1) 10-14 45