Lady Tigers fall in physical game with Blue Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — Nothing came easy for the McClain Lady Tigers on Wednesday night. In a game which could be called physical, it was the Washington Lady Blue Lions taking advantage of various Lady Tiger turnovers, all the while making timely shots, and leaving McClain Gym with a 42-40 South Central Ohio League win.
The Lady Blue Lions did what they had to do to defeat the Lady Tigers, and that was to keep McClain's leading scorer Shania Massie away from the hoop, as the standout player was held to two points off fourth-quarter free throws.
"It seemed Shania was getting held a lot (Wednesday), but it wasn't being called," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said, as he stands eight wins away from reaching 500 career victories. "She's key to our team, and teams know that, but some things weren't called in our favor.
"We need to compose ourselves more than we did for the entire contest, so that's something we need to work on. We still have to improve on not making turnovers, and we must make our foul shots … our turnovers (Wednesday) came at inopportune times."
The loss sends MHS to 2-7 overall, 1-4 in the SCOL. Washington improves to 2-3 in the SCOL and 4-4 overall.
Not to mention Washington kept the game close enough through three quarters to take the lead to start the fourth with five straight points by senior Molli Shaw. Shaw sank a 3-pointer to open the fourth, followed by a steal and layup to put WSHS ahead 30-28 with 7:05 left in the fourth.
MHS was able to tie the game at 33-33 with 3:12 remaining off a free throw from junior Tara Karnes. Karnes finished with a double-double as she totaled 21 points, along with 13 rebounds.
After the score was tied by Karnes, the Lady Blue Lions went ahead by five points with a jumper from Emily Bath and another 3-pointer by Shaw as she fell to the floor while shooting with 1:16 left on the clock.
[[In-content Ad]]
As for Karnes, she was 9-of-13 from the free-throw line. Karnes scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the first half.
MHS never regained the lead but came close with two free throws from Karnes, but MHS only came within two points of tying the game with 12.7 left on the clock and with less than a second left in regulation.
Leading the Lady Blue Lions in scoring was Shaw with a team-high 18 points. Shaw finished with five 3-pointers and was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.
"(Molli) Shaw made big shots for Washington at the start of the fourth, and they were able to get her the ball when they needed," Overstake said. "As for us, the kids played hard to give us a chance late, but it didn't go our way.
"We have to get over the hump of getting the lead back, instead of just the tie."
Bath followed with eight points, and Emma Anderson totaled six.
As for the first three quarters, MHS led 7-5 following the first quarter with Karnes and Alli Willett combining for the MHS points in the first. Washington's five points came off a 3-pointer by Shaw and a two-point basket by Anderson.
Both teams each scored nine points in the second quarter, with Karnes scoring seven of the nine MHS points. For Washington, Shaw made what was her second 3-pointer of the game in the second. Also scoring for the Lady Blue Lions in the second were Bath and Chelsea Warning.
In the third, MHS outscored their opponent 12-11 in the quarter, leading by as much as 22-14 with 3:56 left in the frame off a free throw by Katy Unger. Unger left, then returned to the game with an ankle injury. Unger totaled seven points.
With a lead of eight points, the Lady Tigers were unable to hold the advantage as Washington cut into the lead with a 3-pointer from Shaw, followed by a put-back basket by Anderson. The score was eventually tied at 23 by Bath with 1:53 left in the third, and WSHS took the lead with two points from Corrine Ryan.
MHS regained the lead late in the third with a three-point play by Unger and a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Rayburn.
For the game, the Lady Tigers were 14-of-24 from the free-throw line and 13-of-39 from the field for 33 percent. WSHS was 16-of-47 from the field for 34 percent and 5-of-9 from the free-throw line.
In JV play, Washington won 45-13. Leading MHS was Jhada Coleman with six points. Leading WSHS was Kaylee Noel with 10 points.
The Lady Tigers will play in less than 24 hours as they play in the Highland County Shootout on Thursday, Dec. 20 in Hillsboro as they face the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats at 6 p.m.
The Lady Blue Lions did what they had to do to defeat the Lady Tigers, and that was to keep McClain's leading scorer Shania Massie away from the hoop, as the standout player was held to two points off fourth-quarter free throws.
"It seemed Shania was getting held a lot (Wednesday), but it wasn't being called," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said, as he stands eight wins away from reaching 500 career victories. "She's key to our team, and teams know that, but some things weren't called in our favor.
"We need to compose ourselves more than we did for the entire contest, so that's something we need to work on. We still have to improve on not making turnovers, and we must make our foul shots … our turnovers (Wednesday) came at inopportune times."
The loss sends MHS to 2-7 overall, 1-4 in the SCOL. Washington improves to 2-3 in the SCOL and 4-4 overall.
Not to mention Washington kept the game close enough through three quarters to take the lead to start the fourth with five straight points by senior Molli Shaw. Shaw sank a 3-pointer to open the fourth, followed by a steal and layup to put WSHS ahead 30-28 with 7:05 left in the fourth.
MHS was able to tie the game at 33-33 with 3:12 remaining off a free throw from junior Tara Karnes. Karnes finished with a double-double as she totaled 21 points, along with 13 rebounds.
After the score was tied by Karnes, the Lady Blue Lions went ahead by five points with a jumper from Emily Bath and another 3-pointer by Shaw as she fell to the floor while shooting with 1:16 left on the clock.
[[In-content Ad]]
As for Karnes, she was 9-of-13 from the free-throw line. Karnes scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the first half.
MHS never regained the lead but came close with two free throws from Karnes, but MHS only came within two points of tying the game with 12.7 left on the clock and with less than a second left in regulation.
Leading the Lady Blue Lions in scoring was Shaw with a team-high 18 points. Shaw finished with five 3-pointers and was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.
"(Molli) Shaw made big shots for Washington at the start of the fourth, and they were able to get her the ball when they needed," Overstake said. "As for us, the kids played hard to give us a chance late, but it didn't go our way.
"We have to get over the hump of getting the lead back, instead of just the tie."
Bath followed with eight points, and Emma Anderson totaled six.
As for the first three quarters, MHS led 7-5 following the first quarter with Karnes and Alli Willett combining for the MHS points in the first. Washington's five points came off a 3-pointer by Shaw and a two-point basket by Anderson.
Both teams each scored nine points in the second quarter, with Karnes scoring seven of the nine MHS points. For Washington, Shaw made what was her second 3-pointer of the game in the second. Also scoring for the Lady Blue Lions in the second were Bath and Chelsea Warning.
In the third, MHS outscored their opponent 12-11 in the quarter, leading by as much as 22-14 with 3:56 left in the frame off a free throw by Katy Unger. Unger left, then returned to the game with an ankle injury. Unger totaled seven points.
With a lead of eight points, the Lady Tigers were unable to hold the advantage as Washington cut into the lead with a 3-pointer from Shaw, followed by a put-back basket by Anderson. The score was eventually tied at 23 by Bath with 1:53 left in the third, and WSHS took the lead with two points from Corrine Ryan.
MHS regained the lead late in the third with a three-point play by Unger and a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Rayburn.
For the game, the Lady Tigers were 14-of-24 from the free-throw line and 13-of-39 from the field for 33 percent. WSHS was 16-of-47 from the field for 34 percent and 5-of-9 from the free-throw line.
In JV play, Washington won 45-13. Leading MHS was Jhada Coleman with six points. Leading WSHS was Kaylee Noel with 10 points.
The Lady Tigers will play in less than 24 hours as they play in the Highland County Shootout on Thursday, Dec. 20 in Hillsboro as they face the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats at 6 p.m.