Lady Tigers control Whiteoak
The momentum and success from last season continued for the McClain Lady Tigers Friday night at the 5th Annual Highland County Girls Basketball Shootout, as MHS led from start-to-finish in their season opener against county foe Whiteoak, defeating the Lady ‘Cats 63-24.
Leading 16-4 after the first quarter, which included an 8-0 run to start the game, MHS (1-0) used a balanced offensive attack to gain their first win of the season.
“I am very pleased with how we came out and played in the first quarter,” McClain coach Dennis Overstake said. “We did miss some shots, but we were still able to come out and start with an 8-0 lead.”
McClain senior Shelby Buck opened up the season with the first points for the Lady Tigers on a three-point play.
MHS senior Cortney Hyer then took her turn with a fast break layup. Fellow senior Megan Saylor then gained a three-point play of her own to take the eight point advantage.
The run was stopped by WHS sophomore Jessie Gilliland, who drained a jumper from the corner at the 5:15 mark of the first quarter.
MHS junior Chrissy Cobb was next in line to score for the Lady Tigers, stealing the ball and taking it to the hoop for two points. Senior Kate Hammond and sophomore Jenna Perie then scored for the Lady Tigers for a 14-2 lead.
A total of six Lady Tigers scored in the first quarter.
“We want people coming in and share the scoring,” Overstake said. “We can’t have one person to look for scoring all the points. We should be capable of playing our balanced game all year.”
After WHS senior Kristen Seip made the score 16-4 to end the first quarter, the Lady Tigers kept the pressure on their Highland County counterpart by adding to their lead with points from Hyer and Hammond. WHS sophomore Brooke Burns went 2 of 2 from the free-throw line for Whiteoak’s first points of the second quarter with 5:48 remaining.
More Lady Tigers reached the scoring column when sophomore Kate Crabtree made consecutive baskets to give MHS a 20-point lead at the 3:29 mark of the first half.
Saylor ended the first half scoring the final eight McClain points. WHS senior Emily Hargett drained two free throws with 2:36 left in the second quarter.
MHS added to their lead in the third with baskets from Hammond, Saylor and a 3-pointer by Cobb to increase the MHS lead to 40-12 at the 5:03 mark of the quarter.
Gilliland and junior Haley Bingamon brought WHS (0-1) closer to the Lady Tigers, but again, Hammond, along with Perie and junior Megan Hogle gave MHS a 47-18 lead headed into the final quarter.
“We held up in the third quarter, but we just couldn’t handle the pressure,” Whiteoak coach Steve Smith said. “We got winded and only having six full time varsity players and having JV kids where we can only use for one quarter wore us down.
“We looked better in the second half. It wasn’t great, but we will keep improving.”
McClain sophomore Sammy Rooks and Hogle kept the tough McClain attitude going in the fourth quarter as they combined for the first 10 points of the final eight minutes. Senior Savanna Brown dove after loose balls and battled inside the paint against Whiteoak in the fourth by playing tough defense.
MHS senior Alex Taylor gave MHS a 40-point lead with a basket in the middle stages of the quarter. Bratton and Hargett scored for WHS in the final quarter.
Junior Frankie Wise scored the final points of the game at the buzzer for MHS.
“The kids at the end of the game were doing the same thing we want the first group to do, so that is a positive,” Overstake said. “We want our younger kids to see the fast breaks and find the open players.”
Saylor led all scorers with 12 points. Hammond followed with 11. Eleven Lady Tigers scored at least two points in the game.
Burns led WHS with six points, going 4 of 4 from the foul line.
MHS will face Vinton County Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at Paint Valley High School in the Lady ‘Cats Classic. WHS will face Piketon at 11:45 a.m. at Paint Valley in the same event.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
WHS – 4 4 10 6 – 24
MHS – 16 16 15 16 – 63
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MHS (63)
F.Wise 1 2, S.Rooks 3 6, C.Cobb 2 (1) 0-1 7, M.Saylor 4 4-5 12, M.Hogle 3 6, C.Hyer 2 4, K.Hammond 5 1-2 11, K.Crabtree 3 6, S.Buck 1 1-1 3, A.Taylor 1 2, J.Perie 2 4. TOTALS: 27 (1) 6-9 63.
WHS (24)
J.Gilliland 2 0-1 4, L.Bratton 0 5-9 5, K.Seip 1 0-2 2, H.Bingamon 1 2, B.Burns 1 4-4 6, E.Hargett 1 3-4 5. TOTALS: 6 (0) 12-20 24.
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