Lady Tigers dominate Southeastern in district semifinals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WAVERLY — It was a game of complete domination for the McClain Lady Tigers, as they used their defense to their advantage and their offense was on point, leading to a Division III DE District Semifinal win of 54-37 over the Southeastern Lady Panthers.
The win at Waverly High School moves the No. 1 seeded Lady Tigers to 21-3 overall, and into the district final game on Thursday, March 5 at WHS against the No. 2 seeded Wheelersburg Lady Pirates.
Wheelersburg defeated the No. 3 seeded Westfall Lady Mustangs by a 54-47 score on Thursday in the second game at Waverly on Thursday.
As for McClain's win on Thursday, the game belonged to them by the time the first quarter came to a close, leading by a 15-6 score.
To open the game, Beth Montgomery scored the first two points of the game with 6:13 left in the first, and from there, the Lady Tigers never trailed. MHS took a four-point lead after two free throws from Shania Massie.
"Our defensive pressure really bothered them pretty much all game long," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "Our defense really got us going. Beth Montgomery was huge for us in the first quarter. We found her, and she scored points."
After two points by a young SE squad, McClain, the co-South Central Ohio League champions, really got the ball rolling with a 9-0 run, beginning with a 3-pointer from Massie. That was followed by a three-point play by Taylor Polley and then a 3-pointer from the sophomore guard for a 13-2 Lady Tigers lead with 2:39 left in the quarter.
The final MHS points for the first were scored by Montgomery, with MHS eventually ending the quarter with a nine-point advantage.
McClain (21-3), who are the defending district champions, continued scoring with a 7-0 run to begin the second, with Polley, Malea Montavon and Massie combining for the points and a 22-6 advantage over the 18-win Lady Panthers.
"Taylor made plays defensively, and everyone else followed suit," Haines said. "Offensively and defensively, we played great team basketball. That's how we have to play right now, because collectively we are pretty good as a unit.
"The focus of the girls and how they've grown up since day one this season, maturity-wise during games and that focus during games, was key. Executing our game plan … we didn't do anything special, it is just who we are. If you win, you'll have to handle our pressure, and we did a really good job."
Massie led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, including four 3-pointers. The senior 1,000-plus point scorer was also 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
SE freshman Ella Skeens, who averages around 20 points per game, broke up the run with a jumper at the 3:50 mark of the quarter. MHS responded with two points from Massie, who scored the two points off a pass from Sydney Barton for a 24-8 advantage.
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Barton then sank a free throw for the Lady Tigers, and Sarah Thompson scored two points with the assist from Polley. By the time the halftime break arrived, the Lady Tigers had built a 27-12 lead.
In the third, MHS outscored the Lady Panthers, 17-11, including 10 points by Massie in the quarter.
Montgomery, Montavon and Polley combined for the other seven points in the quarter, pushing the Lady Tigers ahead by 21 points at 44-23. Montgomery finished the game with 12 points, followed by Polley with 10 points, and Montavon ended the game with six points.
With the game well in hand, MHS was outscored in the final eight minutes by SE, 14-10.
The loss sends the Lady Panthers to 18-6 overall for the season.
Haines spoke about them being in the district finals for a second straight season.
"(Wheelersburg) is a good team, and we have to stay focused and ready to play," he said.
The win at Waverly High School moves the No. 1 seeded Lady Tigers to 21-3 overall, and into the district final game on Thursday, March 5 at WHS against the No. 2 seeded Wheelersburg Lady Pirates.
Wheelersburg defeated the No. 3 seeded Westfall Lady Mustangs by a 54-47 score on Thursday in the second game at Waverly on Thursday.
As for McClain's win on Thursday, the game belonged to them by the time the first quarter came to a close, leading by a 15-6 score.
To open the game, Beth Montgomery scored the first two points of the game with 6:13 left in the first, and from there, the Lady Tigers never trailed. MHS took a four-point lead after two free throws from Shania Massie.
"Our defensive pressure really bothered them pretty much all game long," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "Our defense really got us going. Beth Montgomery was huge for us in the first quarter. We found her, and she scored points."
After two points by a young SE squad, McClain, the co-South Central Ohio League champions, really got the ball rolling with a 9-0 run, beginning with a 3-pointer from Massie. That was followed by a three-point play by Taylor Polley and then a 3-pointer from the sophomore guard for a 13-2 Lady Tigers lead with 2:39 left in the quarter.
The final MHS points for the first were scored by Montgomery, with MHS eventually ending the quarter with a nine-point advantage.
McClain (21-3), who are the defending district champions, continued scoring with a 7-0 run to begin the second, with Polley, Malea Montavon and Massie combining for the points and a 22-6 advantage over the 18-win Lady Panthers.
"Taylor made plays defensively, and everyone else followed suit," Haines said. "Offensively and defensively, we played great team basketball. That's how we have to play right now, because collectively we are pretty good as a unit.
"The focus of the girls and how they've grown up since day one this season, maturity-wise during games and that focus during games, was key. Executing our game plan … we didn't do anything special, it is just who we are. If you win, you'll have to handle our pressure, and we did a really good job."
Massie led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, including four 3-pointers. The senior 1,000-plus point scorer was also 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
SE freshman Ella Skeens, who averages around 20 points per game, broke up the run with a jumper at the 3:50 mark of the quarter. MHS responded with two points from Massie, who scored the two points off a pass from Sydney Barton for a 24-8 advantage.
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Barton then sank a free throw for the Lady Tigers, and Sarah Thompson scored two points with the assist from Polley. By the time the halftime break arrived, the Lady Tigers had built a 27-12 lead.
In the third, MHS outscored the Lady Panthers, 17-11, including 10 points by Massie in the quarter.
Montgomery, Montavon and Polley combined for the other seven points in the quarter, pushing the Lady Tigers ahead by 21 points at 44-23. Montgomery finished the game with 12 points, followed by Polley with 10 points, and Montavon ended the game with six points.
With the game well in hand, MHS was outscored in the final eight minutes by SE, 14-10.
The loss sends the Lady Panthers to 18-6 overall for the season.
Haines spoke about them being in the district finals for a second straight season.
"(Wheelersburg) is a good team, and we have to stay focused and ready to play," he said.