Lady Tigers finish as district runners-up

WAVERLY — A season which saw the McClain Lady Tigers return to the top of the South Central Ohio League in for the first time in over two decades had its final chapter written on Saturday afternoon in the 2015 Division III SE District Finals.

The Lady Tigers kept things close on the scoreboard in the first eight minutes of their district final game with Wheelersburg (22-2), but a repeat as the champions of the SE District wasn't in the books for the Lady Tigers, falling to the state-ranked Lady Pirates, 54-40 at the downtown gym of Waverly High School.

The loss completes a McClain season which saw them finish with a 21-4 overall record, win a sectional title and finish the postseason with a 2-1 mark. Also this season, the Lady Tigers were co-SCOL champions with the Chillicothe Lady Cavaliers, as they each had league records of 12-2.

"The time they put in and the dedication they have … the girls are very dependable people, and I hope they realize they were a part of something very special here this season," McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said.

For McClain on Saturday, they led early with the first five points of the game but trailed 11-7 after the first quarter came to a conclusion. From there, the game was all Wheelersburg, as they went on a 16-0 run from the end of the first frame until there was 1:13 left in the second, to eventually lead 25-9 at halftime.

"We just got stagnant, weren't moving, looking at each other and didn't know what to do," Haines said. "We didn't execute. You have to knock down shots, and we really didn't know down too many shots from the perimeter, especially in the first half. Credit Wheelersburg, they took Shania (Massie) right out of the game. She was frustrated and again … we couldn't knock down shots.

"Shania is one of our biggest offensive threats, and she couldn't even get the ball, so credit (Ellie Ruby) for playing an outstanding game. Our communication wasn't very good in the first half, and we allowed them to have too many uncontested shots."

In the first half, the scoring very early on went to McClain with Malea Montavon sinking a jumper and Taylor Polley connecting with a 3-pointer with 5:53 left in the first for a 5-0 lead.

Those would be the last points by the Lady Tigers until there was 1:13 left in the second quarter when Beth Montgomery broke the aforementioned 16-0 run by the Lady Pirates with points in the paint.

For Wheelersburg, they were led in scoring by Brooke Smith with 18 points, followed by Ruby with 11.

The third frame was no better for the No. 1 seeded Lady Tigers, with Wheelersburg gaining a lead of 27 points with 4:35 left in the quarter, as this time they opened the third with an 11-0 run for a 36-9 advantage.

The scoring run was broken up by Lexie Barton of the Lady Tigers with 4:33 left in the quarter via free throws.

From that point of the third, McClain outscored the Lady Tigers 11-4 to end the third trailing 40-20. In that span of points, Shania Massie, the Division III SE District 14 Coaches Player of the Year, scored seven of the 11 points, while Polley added two points with under a minute to go in the quarter.

Massie finished the game with 25 points, all coming in the second half, leading all scorers.

In the fourth, McClain outscored the Lady Pirates, 20-14, with Massie scoring 18 of those 20 points. Also adding points in the fourth was Polley.

Playing their final game were McClain seniors Massie, Sarah Thompson and Sydney Barton.

"They were an outstanding group to coach, and they will be missed by the program," Haines said.