Lady Tigers have season ended in regional semifinals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LOGAN — The crowd noise was loud and fierce at the start of the Division III Regional Semifinal game between the McClain Lady Tigers and Fairland Lady Dragons, but the offense of the Lady Tigers was held silent for most of the game as they were eliminated from the postseason by a 64-42 score Wednesday at Logan High School.
The loss by MHS leaves them with a final season record of 15-8 overall as they wrap up the year in the Sweet 16 with a sectional and district championship. This was the first trip for MHS to the regional round since the 2008-09 season.
McClain was the final team in the South Central Ohio League to be eliminated. Earlier this week, the Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons were eliminated in their regional semifinal game.
In maybe their most physical game of the 2013-14 season, the Lady Tigers just couldn't overcome a slow start, where they were held scoreless until the 1:20 mark of the first quarter as they gave up 12 straight points to open the first frame.
"You can't come out flat like we came out," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "I thought we came out flat, and (Fairland) took advantage of that in the first quarter.
"We have four young ladies (seniors) in the locker room that are upset, but they left everything they had in this program."
The first points of MHS in the regional semifinal came from senior Katy Unger with points in the paint. Unger finished the game with 12 points and six rebounds.
MHS eventually trailed 19-5 after the first eight minutes. In the first frame, both teams unofficially combined for 13 turnovers, including seven in the first minute of the game. Shania Massie, a junior, scored the other three points in the first with a 3-pointer as there were 26 seconds left on the clock.
Massie finished the game by leading all scorers with 18 points, going 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. She sank three 3-pointers in the game.
"They came out and tried to stop her," Haines said. "She missed some close baskets in the lane, but she was playing a little mad, and sometimes when you are playing mad, you just can't find the touch at the basket.
"Shania never quit and went strong the entire game."
MHS had nine turnovers in the first quarter (unofficially), and it didn't improve much for them in the scored frame as they eventually trailed 21-5 with 7:13 left in the second.
Taylor Polley scored the second 3-pointer of the game for MHS with 6:42 on the second-quarter clock.
"Taylor had a good game offensively," Haines said. "I want to keep building on that for next year. She's a difference maker on the floor and probably doesn't get enough credit, but the pressure she applies on the defensive end is great."
MHS ended the second quarter down 31-19 with points also by Unger, Massie and Sarah Thompson.
"It seemed against Fairland we would do something good and they would do something great," Haines said. "They were shooting threes, and they would bounce and almost hit the ceiling and fall through the net. You have to have a little luck like that.
"We just couldn't find anything to go our way."
It looked early on in the third as though the Lady Tigers were really going to cut into the lead of the Lady Dragons (21-3) with Unger bringing MHS to within 10 points of tying the score with 7:22 left in the third frame.
That hope disappeared in a flash, as by the time there was 2:19 left in the third the Lady Tigers trailed by 24 points, a score of 48-24 following a 17-3 run in that span by FHS.
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"(Fairland) is an experienced team, and they've been here before," Haines said of the three-time district champion Lady Dragons. "They didn't get flustered with anything that we came at them hard with. We tried to bring some double teams and pressure them, and they would find someone open and hit a three.
"We would double (Stapleton) up, and she would split the double team and score. She makes the game totally different."
Fairland was led in scoring by Terra Stapleton with 14 points. Taylor Perry followed with 13 points, while Caitlin Stone and Kelsey Riley each scored 11 points. In all, FHS had five players score in double figures with Mackenzie Riley scoring 10 points.
The run was stopped with a free throw by Allison Willett with 1:37 left in the third, which was later followed by a three-point play from fellow senior Tara Karnes, as MHS then trailed by 20 points at 48-28.
The Lady Dragons responded by ending the third with four points at a 52-28 advantage, outscoring MHS 21-9 in the frame.
Massie opened the fourth with a 3-pointer, followed by two points from Unger off converted free throws. Unger then added two more points with an off-balanced play with 5:19 left in regulation, giving MHS a 6-0 run to open the final quarter.
But MHS was just too far behind in the game to pose a real threat as they eventually ended the game down 22 points.
For the game, MHS finished 14-of-22 from the free-throw line (67 percent), while FHS was 16-of-23 for 69.5 percent.
This was the final game for four Lady Tiger seniors in Tara Karnes, Katy Unger, Allison Willett and Caitlyn Lovett.
"Katy was outstanding in this game," Haines said. "She had no fear in her, and she was a warrior. She was not scared at all and went to the basket.
"Tara was our big post presence all year, and I'm proud of her season. Allison and Caitlyn were great workers this season, and we are going to miss all four of them. I have nothing but great things to say about all four of them."
FHS will play in the regional finals on Saturday at Logan High School at 1:30 p.m.
The loss by MHS leaves them with a final season record of 15-8 overall as they wrap up the year in the Sweet 16 with a sectional and district championship. This was the first trip for MHS to the regional round since the 2008-09 season.
McClain was the final team in the South Central Ohio League to be eliminated. Earlier this week, the Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons were eliminated in their regional semifinal game.
In maybe their most physical game of the 2013-14 season, the Lady Tigers just couldn't overcome a slow start, where they were held scoreless until the 1:20 mark of the first quarter as they gave up 12 straight points to open the first frame.
"You can't come out flat like we came out," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "I thought we came out flat, and (Fairland) took advantage of that in the first quarter.
"We have four young ladies (seniors) in the locker room that are upset, but they left everything they had in this program."
The first points of MHS in the regional semifinal came from senior Katy Unger with points in the paint. Unger finished the game with 12 points and six rebounds.
MHS eventually trailed 19-5 after the first eight minutes. In the first frame, both teams unofficially combined for 13 turnovers, including seven in the first minute of the game. Shania Massie, a junior, scored the other three points in the first with a 3-pointer as there were 26 seconds left on the clock.
Massie finished the game by leading all scorers with 18 points, going 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. She sank three 3-pointers in the game.
"They came out and tried to stop her," Haines said. "She missed some close baskets in the lane, but she was playing a little mad, and sometimes when you are playing mad, you just can't find the touch at the basket.
"Shania never quit and went strong the entire game."
MHS had nine turnovers in the first quarter (unofficially), and it didn't improve much for them in the scored frame as they eventually trailed 21-5 with 7:13 left in the second.
Taylor Polley scored the second 3-pointer of the game for MHS with 6:42 on the second-quarter clock.
"Taylor had a good game offensively," Haines said. "I want to keep building on that for next year. She's a difference maker on the floor and probably doesn't get enough credit, but the pressure she applies on the defensive end is great."
MHS ended the second quarter down 31-19 with points also by Unger, Massie and Sarah Thompson.
"It seemed against Fairland we would do something good and they would do something great," Haines said. "They were shooting threes, and they would bounce and almost hit the ceiling and fall through the net. You have to have a little luck like that.
"We just couldn't find anything to go our way."
It looked early on in the third as though the Lady Tigers were really going to cut into the lead of the Lady Dragons (21-3) with Unger bringing MHS to within 10 points of tying the score with 7:22 left in the third frame.
That hope disappeared in a flash, as by the time there was 2:19 left in the third the Lady Tigers trailed by 24 points, a score of 48-24 following a 17-3 run in that span by FHS.
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"(Fairland) is an experienced team, and they've been here before," Haines said of the three-time district champion Lady Dragons. "They didn't get flustered with anything that we came at them hard with. We tried to bring some double teams and pressure them, and they would find someone open and hit a three.
"We would double (Stapleton) up, and she would split the double team and score. She makes the game totally different."
Fairland was led in scoring by Terra Stapleton with 14 points. Taylor Perry followed with 13 points, while Caitlin Stone and Kelsey Riley each scored 11 points. In all, FHS had five players score in double figures with Mackenzie Riley scoring 10 points.
The run was stopped with a free throw by Allison Willett with 1:37 left in the third, which was later followed by a three-point play from fellow senior Tara Karnes, as MHS then trailed by 20 points at 48-28.
The Lady Dragons responded by ending the third with four points at a 52-28 advantage, outscoring MHS 21-9 in the frame.
Massie opened the fourth with a 3-pointer, followed by two points from Unger off converted free throws. Unger then added two more points with an off-balanced play with 5:19 left in regulation, giving MHS a 6-0 run to open the final quarter.
But MHS was just too far behind in the game to pose a real threat as they eventually ended the game down 22 points.
For the game, MHS finished 14-of-22 from the free-throw line (67 percent), while FHS was 16-of-23 for 69.5 percent.
This was the final game for four Lady Tiger seniors in Tara Karnes, Katy Unger, Allison Willett and Caitlyn Lovett.
"Katy was outstanding in this game," Haines said. "She had no fear in her, and she was a warrior. She was not scared at all and went to the basket.
"Tara was our big post presence all year, and I'm proud of her season. Allison and Caitlyn were great workers this season, and we are going to miss all four of them. I have nothing but great things to say about all four of them."
FHS will play in the regional finals on Saturday at Logan High School at 1:30 p.m.