Lady Tigers extend streak over Hillsboro
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The third quarter set the tone for the McClain Lady Tigers, and from there, they really didn't look back as they swept the regular-season series against Highland County rival Hillsboro for the eighth consecutive season, winning by a score of 61-44.
The mid-week win by the Lady Tigers gives the school 17 consecutive wins over their South Central Ohio League and cross-county rival, as this most recent win was built in the third quarter Wednesday as McClain went on a 14-0 run, which was sandwiched in between two baskets by the Lady Indians, as MHS went from trailing by three points at halftime (28-25) to leading 39-32 at the conclusion of the third frame.
The win streak for MHS began with a 45-39 win on Feb. 5, 2005, the second meeting of the 2004-05 season at MHS.
How did McClain (4-6, 6-11) get that type of run? For starters, they kept HHS scoreless for over seven minutes during the half, switching to various zone defenses in the game, along with scoring on key opportunities and making free throws along the way.
After the Lady Indians (1-9, 5-12) opened the third with two points, the MHS scoring run began with Shania Massie (who totaled nine points) sinking a layup, followed by two free throws by Tara Karnes and a two-point basket by Lauren Rayburn.
MHS avoided a scare early in the first quarter as Massie fell to the ground in pain with an leg injury but ended up returning late in the first frame.
Karnes, who led all scorers with a game-high 27 points, added onto the run with two more free throws and two consecutive layups, as Katy Unger bounce-passed the ball to Karnes under the hoop for a 38-30 lead with 29 seconds left in the third.
"I thought we took care of the ball better when they were pressing," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said, who gained career coaching win No. 496. "We played the zone over there (at HHS), but we didn't show the 2-3 zone until the second half, so they couldn't make adjustments on it at halftime.
"A majority of the game plan was to get Tara the ball. Early in the game, she was turning and not seeing the basket and missed some shots. She wasn't getting a good post move. We told her what she needed to be doing, and we did a better job of getting her the ball in paint, so she could make that post move. In the second half, in transition, we had some two-on-ones and we gave her the ball, and that's what we need to do."
Hillsboro's Britney Bowen broke up the run with two points with 14 seconds left in the frame.
"They (MHS) did a good job of getting the ball to Tara (Karnes), and we couldn't defend her one-on-one," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "We couldn't get help to our people. She did a good job (Wednesday), and they did a good job of getting the ball to her.
"Defensively, they went to the 2-3 zone, and we were content to pass the ball around the perimeter and settle for jump shots. We'd get one shot, then they would go down the floor and score … that's a recipe for failure, really."
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The Lady Indians responded at the start of the fourth by Trista Rhodes making one free throw off a technical foul given to the MHS bench, followed by Kaylynn Bell converting a three-point play and two points from Faith Middleton.
Bell and Rhodes combined for 33 of the Lady Indians' 44 points as Bell totaled 17 and Rhodes ended with 16.
But from the 5:20 mark of the fourth, until the 1:25 mark all the scoring belonged to the Lady Tigers, as they exceeded their first double-digit run, this time scoring 16 consecutive points for a 55-38 lead. Before the run, it was a one-point lead for MHS at 39-38.
Karnes scored nine of the 13 points, while Unger drilled a 3-pointer, while Caitlyn Lovett scored on a layup. Rayburn and Sarah Thompson each made a free throw in the run. Rayburn ended the game with 10 points.
Bell ended the MHS run with a 3-pointer, and later in the fourth, Taylor Moberly sank a 3-pointer for the Lady Indians.
MHS ended the game with five free throws from Karnes, Rayburn and Thompson.
For the game, MHS was 21-of-41 for 51 percent from the field, while HHS was 17-of-46 for 37 percent.
As for the opening two frames, the first quarter was tied at 13 at the conclusion of eight minutes as the score was tied five times in the frame. The score was tied once in the second at 15 following a layup by Karnes, but HHS answered with nine straight points in a span of just over two minutes, as Bell scored five of the points and Rhodes added four.
"Coach Moberly does a nice job with his kids," Overstake said. "I thought we negated some of the things they've been doing well in their past few ball games, but they are young just like we are. They are still trying to play up to the level they want to be, just like we are trying to do."
HHS ended the first half with four straight points by Rhodes and Bell.
"Our kids were more active, more aggressive in the first half," Moberly said. "We knew they were going to play multiple zones, and we put some different sets in to try to attack those. We didn't necessarily get great looks out of it. They switched defenses, and all of a sudden we quit doing all those little things that we did in the first half."
In JV play, HHS defeated MHS, 45-37. Leading HHS was Tyeika Cumberland with 19 points, and leading MHS was Haylee Turner with 11.
MHS will host East Clinton on Saturday, with JV starting at noon. The Lady Indians will play again on Saturday as they host London.
The mid-week win by the Lady Tigers gives the school 17 consecutive wins over their South Central Ohio League and cross-county rival, as this most recent win was built in the third quarter Wednesday as McClain went on a 14-0 run, which was sandwiched in between two baskets by the Lady Indians, as MHS went from trailing by three points at halftime (28-25) to leading 39-32 at the conclusion of the third frame.
The win streak for MHS began with a 45-39 win on Feb. 5, 2005, the second meeting of the 2004-05 season at MHS.
How did McClain (4-6, 6-11) get that type of run? For starters, they kept HHS scoreless for over seven minutes during the half, switching to various zone defenses in the game, along with scoring on key opportunities and making free throws along the way.
After the Lady Indians (1-9, 5-12) opened the third with two points, the MHS scoring run began with Shania Massie (who totaled nine points) sinking a layup, followed by two free throws by Tara Karnes and a two-point basket by Lauren Rayburn.
MHS avoided a scare early in the first quarter as Massie fell to the ground in pain with an leg injury but ended up returning late in the first frame.
Karnes, who led all scorers with a game-high 27 points, added onto the run with two more free throws and two consecutive layups, as Katy Unger bounce-passed the ball to Karnes under the hoop for a 38-30 lead with 29 seconds left in the third.
"I thought we took care of the ball better when they were pressing," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said, who gained career coaching win No. 496. "We played the zone over there (at HHS), but we didn't show the 2-3 zone until the second half, so they couldn't make adjustments on it at halftime.
"A majority of the game plan was to get Tara the ball. Early in the game, she was turning and not seeing the basket and missed some shots. She wasn't getting a good post move. We told her what she needed to be doing, and we did a better job of getting her the ball in paint, so she could make that post move. In the second half, in transition, we had some two-on-ones and we gave her the ball, and that's what we need to do."
Hillsboro's Britney Bowen broke up the run with two points with 14 seconds left in the frame.
"They (MHS) did a good job of getting the ball to Tara (Karnes), and we couldn't defend her one-on-one," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "We couldn't get help to our people. She did a good job (Wednesday), and they did a good job of getting the ball to her.
"Defensively, they went to the 2-3 zone, and we were content to pass the ball around the perimeter and settle for jump shots. We'd get one shot, then they would go down the floor and score … that's a recipe for failure, really."
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The Lady Indians responded at the start of the fourth by Trista Rhodes making one free throw off a technical foul given to the MHS bench, followed by Kaylynn Bell converting a three-point play and two points from Faith Middleton.
Bell and Rhodes combined for 33 of the Lady Indians' 44 points as Bell totaled 17 and Rhodes ended with 16.
But from the 5:20 mark of the fourth, until the 1:25 mark all the scoring belonged to the Lady Tigers, as they exceeded their first double-digit run, this time scoring 16 consecutive points for a 55-38 lead. Before the run, it was a one-point lead for MHS at 39-38.
Karnes scored nine of the 13 points, while Unger drilled a 3-pointer, while Caitlyn Lovett scored on a layup. Rayburn and Sarah Thompson each made a free throw in the run. Rayburn ended the game with 10 points.
Bell ended the MHS run with a 3-pointer, and later in the fourth, Taylor Moberly sank a 3-pointer for the Lady Indians.
MHS ended the game with five free throws from Karnes, Rayburn and Thompson.
For the game, MHS was 21-of-41 for 51 percent from the field, while HHS was 17-of-46 for 37 percent.
As for the opening two frames, the first quarter was tied at 13 at the conclusion of eight minutes as the score was tied five times in the frame. The score was tied once in the second at 15 following a layup by Karnes, but HHS answered with nine straight points in a span of just over two minutes, as Bell scored five of the points and Rhodes added four.
"Coach Moberly does a nice job with his kids," Overstake said. "I thought we negated some of the things they've been doing well in their past few ball games, but they are young just like we are. They are still trying to play up to the level they want to be, just like we are trying to do."
HHS ended the first half with four straight points by Rhodes and Bell.
"Our kids were more active, more aggressive in the first half," Moberly said. "We knew they were going to play multiple zones, and we put some different sets in to try to attack those. We didn't necessarily get great looks out of it. They switched defenses, and all of a sudden we quit doing all those little things that we did in the first half."
In JV play, HHS defeated MHS, 45-37. Leading HHS was Tyeika Cumberland with 19 points, and leading MHS was Haylee Turner with 11.
MHS will host East Clinton on Saturday, with JV starting at noon. The Lady Indians will play again on Saturday as they host London.