Lady Panthers hold on in 1st meeting of season with Lady Tigers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
EBER — Once again, the South Central Ohio League championship will have to go through Miami Trace High School. The defending seven-time league champions combined scoring runs with pressure defense to knock off a hard-charging McClain Lady Tigers team, defeating the visiting MHS squad, 50-46 at MTHS, Thursday night.
McClain, who now have played three games in four days (at Lynchburg-Clay and vs. Zane Trace), kept the league game close for the entire 32 minutes, but turnovers and fouls hurt them when the game was on the line.
MHS (7-3, 3-2) falls two games back of the league-leading Lady Panthers, who are now 11-0 overall and 5-0 in the SCOL.
The Lady Tigers have lost their last three meetings with MT and have lost at the Panther Pit since the 2006-07 season. In their last seven meetings, though, MT leads the rivalry 4-3 as each team have defeated each other in the tournament the past two seasons.
MT and MHS are scheduled to play each other one more time this regular season, on Feb. 3 at McClain High School.
Though the game was tied six times, twice in the third quarter, MHS never held the lead after the 4:50 mark of the second frame, when they lost their 18-17 lead off a layup by Miami Trace's Julie McKay.
But both teams continued to keep the score close for the remainder of the game, with Miami Trace leading by three points at the start of the fourth quarter.
The MT three-point lead quickly turned into a six-point advantage with a 3-pointer from Ashley Lawson. McClain's Chrissy Cobb answered with a steal and layup on a fast break with 6:39 left in the fourth. Sammy Rooks cut the MT lead to two points with a layup off an MT turnover.
MHS continued to offset points by MT but didn't put together enough points to jump ahead of the Lady Panthers.
MT defense didn't let the Lady Tigers penetrate the inside lane, forcing the Lady Tigers to pass the basketball outside the 3-point line. After numerous passes, MT's defense finally forced a turnover, turning into two points when Deidra McKay put MT ahead 47-42 with 2:26 left on the clock.
Points by Jenna Perie and Rooks brought the Lady Tigers within one point of the lead, bringing the fans in attendance to their feet with 1:05 left in regulation.
But the turnover bug bit the Lady Tigers with 22.6 left in regulation when an inbounds pass from the half-court line sailed the length of the line, out of bounds on the other side of the court. MT, after three straight MHS fouls, converted the front end of a one-and-one at the free-throw line by Deidra McKay.
"We definitely looked like we had a full week off. I thought we should have been able to take advantage of some of the mis-matches we had, but they (MHS) exploited us to the best of their ability," MT head coach James Stutzman said. "We didn't adjust well.
"We were never able to take total control of the game."
Rooks led all scorers with the game-high 17 points, 11 points in the second half.
"Sammy (Rooks) really stepped up tonight," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said. "Sammy was playing with an injured leg that's been bothering her since the summer. Jenna (Perie) gave us her normal game, and we had others who stepped up out on the court and coming off the bench."
MT had three players finish in double figures, with Lawson leading the way with 13 points. Kristen Reisinger scored 12 (eight in the first quarter), and Deidra McKay had 11 points. Josey Hull scored nine points.
"We did a great job of controlling the ball (in the fourth), got the ball where it needed to go. Jo (Hull) really stepped up, made a nice layup, and then it was just trying to keep the ball away from them," Stutzman said.
Though being outsized, MHS out-rebounded MT on the boards (21-13). Perie led MHS with nine (three offensive). Cobb tallied four rebounds, along with five assists and four steals.
"We talked about how with both their big girls in the game at the same time and Ashley (Lawson) running on the outside, you have to put a body on them to keep them off the boards," Overstake said. "We did a nice job at times on their offensive end, keeping them to one opportunity, and that's what you got to do."
Not only was the final quarter full of action, but the first three didn't lack in excitement either.
The first quarter was led by MHS at 14-12. The score was tied at eight until Perie made an off-balanced falling jumper with 2:05 left in the first, putting MHS up by two points. Her points were topped with a jumper by Lawson. Cobb and Brittany Mullikin put MHS up by four points with points in the paint.
The aforementioned points by Julie McKay (in the second quarter to take away McClain's last lead) were the third points of an eventual 10-0 run by MT, as they gained a 26-18 advantage with 3:17 left in the first half. The run started with a free throw by Abby Schwenk. Also scoring in the run were Deidra McKay, Lawson and Josey Hull.
McClain's Kate Crabtree stopped the run with a layup off a pass by Cobb. Rooks and Crabtree added four more points to end the second, trailing by two points at 26-24.
"We are disappointed in our defense," Stutzman said. "The first half, it just wasn't there. We gave them a lot of looks we shouldn't ever have given up, and offensively we got on a couple spurts, here and there, but nothing consistent to sustain a drive. We got too trigger-happy and pulled too many quick shots."
The Lady Tigers trailed by four points with 5:20 left in the third frame, but with 4:42 remaining, they were tied at 30 with jump shots by Frankie Wise and Rooks.
Later in the third, Hull went coast-to-coast for MT, increasing the Lady Panthers' lead to 34-31.
"There were three or four times when I told them 'we have to take the lead.' There were times when we were down one point, we'd stop them, but we didn't finish on our end and take the lead," Overstake said.
Wise sank a 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the third, bringing MHS within one point of tying the Lady Panthers.
MHS will play again on Monday night, hosting the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors in a non-league game.
GAME NOTES: MHS had eight offensive rebounds, MT tallied six … Sammy Rooks had the only MHS blocked shot … Rooks also had two steals, as did Perie … Frankie Wise had four assists … Perie had three assists … MT tallied eight steals, 14 turnovers and one charge … Cobb took a charge for MHS … MHS was 2-of-4 from the free-throw line … MT went 5-of-10 … MT has outscored MHS in their last three meetings by a score of 136-100.[[In-content Ad]]
McClain, who now have played three games in four days (at Lynchburg-Clay and vs. Zane Trace), kept the league game close for the entire 32 minutes, but turnovers and fouls hurt them when the game was on the line.
MHS (7-3, 3-2) falls two games back of the league-leading Lady Panthers, who are now 11-0 overall and 5-0 in the SCOL.
The Lady Tigers have lost their last three meetings with MT and have lost at the Panther Pit since the 2006-07 season. In their last seven meetings, though, MT leads the rivalry 4-3 as each team have defeated each other in the tournament the past two seasons.
MT and MHS are scheduled to play each other one more time this regular season, on Feb. 3 at McClain High School.
Though the game was tied six times, twice in the third quarter, MHS never held the lead after the 4:50 mark of the second frame, when they lost their 18-17 lead off a layup by Miami Trace's Julie McKay.
But both teams continued to keep the score close for the remainder of the game, with Miami Trace leading by three points at the start of the fourth quarter.
The MT three-point lead quickly turned into a six-point advantage with a 3-pointer from Ashley Lawson. McClain's Chrissy Cobb answered with a steal and layup on a fast break with 6:39 left in the fourth. Sammy Rooks cut the MT lead to two points with a layup off an MT turnover.
MHS continued to offset points by MT but didn't put together enough points to jump ahead of the Lady Panthers.
MT defense didn't let the Lady Tigers penetrate the inside lane, forcing the Lady Tigers to pass the basketball outside the 3-point line. After numerous passes, MT's defense finally forced a turnover, turning into two points when Deidra McKay put MT ahead 47-42 with 2:26 left on the clock.
Points by Jenna Perie and Rooks brought the Lady Tigers within one point of the lead, bringing the fans in attendance to their feet with 1:05 left in regulation.
But the turnover bug bit the Lady Tigers with 22.6 left in regulation when an inbounds pass from the half-court line sailed the length of the line, out of bounds on the other side of the court. MT, after three straight MHS fouls, converted the front end of a one-and-one at the free-throw line by Deidra McKay.
"We definitely looked like we had a full week off. I thought we should have been able to take advantage of some of the mis-matches we had, but they (MHS) exploited us to the best of their ability," MT head coach James Stutzman said. "We didn't adjust well.
"We were never able to take total control of the game."
Rooks led all scorers with the game-high 17 points, 11 points in the second half.
"Sammy (Rooks) really stepped up tonight," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said. "Sammy was playing with an injured leg that's been bothering her since the summer. Jenna (Perie) gave us her normal game, and we had others who stepped up out on the court and coming off the bench."
MT had three players finish in double figures, with Lawson leading the way with 13 points. Kristen Reisinger scored 12 (eight in the first quarter), and Deidra McKay had 11 points. Josey Hull scored nine points.
"We did a great job of controlling the ball (in the fourth), got the ball where it needed to go. Jo (Hull) really stepped up, made a nice layup, and then it was just trying to keep the ball away from them," Stutzman said.
Though being outsized, MHS out-rebounded MT on the boards (21-13). Perie led MHS with nine (three offensive). Cobb tallied four rebounds, along with five assists and four steals.
"We talked about how with both their big girls in the game at the same time and Ashley (Lawson) running on the outside, you have to put a body on them to keep them off the boards," Overstake said. "We did a nice job at times on their offensive end, keeping them to one opportunity, and that's what you got to do."
Not only was the final quarter full of action, but the first three didn't lack in excitement either.
The first quarter was led by MHS at 14-12. The score was tied at eight until Perie made an off-balanced falling jumper with 2:05 left in the first, putting MHS up by two points. Her points were topped with a jumper by Lawson. Cobb and Brittany Mullikin put MHS up by four points with points in the paint.
The aforementioned points by Julie McKay (in the second quarter to take away McClain's last lead) were the third points of an eventual 10-0 run by MT, as they gained a 26-18 advantage with 3:17 left in the first half. The run started with a free throw by Abby Schwenk. Also scoring in the run were Deidra McKay, Lawson and Josey Hull.
McClain's Kate Crabtree stopped the run with a layup off a pass by Cobb. Rooks and Crabtree added four more points to end the second, trailing by two points at 26-24.
"We are disappointed in our defense," Stutzman said. "The first half, it just wasn't there. We gave them a lot of looks we shouldn't ever have given up, and offensively we got on a couple spurts, here and there, but nothing consistent to sustain a drive. We got too trigger-happy and pulled too many quick shots."
The Lady Tigers trailed by four points with 5:20 left in the third frame, but with 4:42 remaining, they were tied at 30 with jump shots by Frankie Wise and Rooks.
Later in the third, Hull went coast-to-coast for MT, increasing the Lady Panthers' lead to 34-31.
"There were three or four times when I told them 'we have to take the lead.' There were times when we were down one point, we'd stop them, but we didn't finish on our end and take the lead," Overstake said.
Wise sank a 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the third, bringing MHS within one point of tying the Lady Panthers.
MHS will play again on Monday night, hosting the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors in a non-league game.
GAME NOTES: MHS had eight offensive rebounds, MT tallied six … Sammy Rooks had the only MHS blocked shot … Rooks also had two steals, as did Perie … Frankie Wise had four assists … Perie had three assists … MT tallied eight steals, 14 turnovers and one charge … Cobb took a charge for MHS … MHS was 2-of-4 from the free-throw line … MT went 5-of-10 … MT has outscored MHS in their last three meetings by a score of 136-100.[[In-content Ad]]