Lady Tigers keep SCOL hopes alive; upset undefeated Miami Trace
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The Miami Trace Lady Panthers are undefeated no more, thanks in part to the McClain Lady Tigers. MHS kept their South Central Ohio League championship hopes alive by defeating the No. 15 Division II Associated Press State-Ranked Lady Panthers, 47-33, Monday night, on Senior Night at McClain High School.
Seniors Megan Hogle, Chrissy Cobb and Frankie Wise got a win in their final home game, due in large part to not only their play, but the play of other Lady Tigers who helped control all aspects of the SCOL must-win game for MHS.
All three seniors scored points for MHS, with Cobb scoring seven, Hogle five and Wise two points. Cobb added three rebounds, four steals, four assists and one taken charge (in the second quarter with 3:01 remaining.) Hogle added one rebound, and Wise had four boards, one steal and one assist.
"These three seniors are the last three out of the 15 that were on a seventh grade team," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said. "They come to play every night and with the help of their teammates, every night at practice we have gotten better, and hopefully we aren't done yet."
The win puts MHS one game behind MT in the standings of the SCOL with a league record of 9-2. The Lady Panthers are 9-1 in the SCOL with games against Clinton-Massie (Thursday) and Madison-Plains remaining. MHS has one SCOL game left against Hillsboro on Wednesday at Hillsboro. Clinton-Massie also has two losses in the league.
MHS has not won an SCOL title since 1991, and MT has won the past seven championships since the league reformed in 2003.
But on Monday night, the Lady Tigers avenged their 50-46 loss to Miami Trace from earlier in the season at The Panther Pit with a balance of rebounding, shooting and taking advantage of Miami Trace miscues.
Miami Trace never led in the game as they shot 25 percent from the field (13-of-52). MHS shot 44 percent at 18-of-41.
"They (MT) struggled shooting the ball, and that was a key to the win tonight," Overstake said. "When you take in account Ashley (Lawson) had nine, she is capable of scoring double figures."
The win by MHS also breaks a three-game losing skid to MT dating back to their second meeting last season. In their last eight meetings, the Lady Panthers and Lady Tigers are an even 4-4 against each other. They could possibly meet one more time this season in the Division II SE District Sectional tournament if they both win their first-round games next week. MHS will take on Logan Elm, and MT will face the winner of Hillsboro and Waverly.
Though they have the possibility to meet again, the game on Monday night was dominated with the play of junior Jenna Perie. Perie powered her way in the post with a game-high 22 rebounds, along with 13 points. She was 3-of-5 from the free-throw line and made five baskets from the floor.
"When Jenna cleans up the boards like she did tonight, for a 5-6 post player, that is playing pretty well," Overstake said. "Jenna handled the ball in the open court, doing things we don't normally ask of her. She's doing things because that's what needs to be done for the team."
The first eight minutes was a quarter where each team looked to see what the other had to offer, but it was Cobb who was first to score 40 seconds into the contest with a jumper. The first frame had the only 3-pointer by the Lady Tigers when Hogle drained a 3-point basket, while under the pressure of the Lady Panthers' defense to put MHS up 7-3 with 3:26 left on the scoreboard.
MT came back within one point of tying the game, but MHS took a 10-8 lead once the quarter was completed.
Perie went on a tear at the start of the second with the quarter's first four points to put MHS up 14-8. Perie scored eight of the 10 Lady Tigers' points in the second with Sammy Rooks scoring the other two. Rooks finished with six points.
Unofficially, in the first half MT shot 8-of-28, missing their first six shots of the game.
McClain continued their follow-the-leader play in the final two quarters, winning the third at 12-8.
"There were two big keys in the third, one being we got the lead and we kept the lead," Overstake said. "They couldn't get the lead tonight and when we played at their place, it was the same situation where we couldn't get the lead. We could never get over that hump when we played at their place."
Cobb began the second half with a jumper, and Kate Crabtree added two points with a put-back basket in the paint for a 24-20 Lady Tiger lead with 6:10 left in the third quarter.
Hogle put MHS back up four points after Miami Trace's Deidre McKay made a basket. McKay led the Lady Panthers with 11 points.
One of the big problems for MT was their free-throw shooting. In the third quarter alone, they were 2-for-6, and for the second half, they went 5-of-14. For the game, MT was 7-of-18 (39 percent) from the charity stripe.
MHS entered the final eight-minute period with a six-point lead (32-26).
In the fourth, Perie and Crabtree put MHS up nine points at 36-27. Perie scored after a timeout was called, and Crabtree sank two shots from the free-throw line. Crabtree led all scorers with 14 points, scoring 12 in the second half.
The MHS defense caused problems in the paint with their rebounding, and the offense continued to take advantage with buckets by Cobb and Crabtree, who gained possession of the ball off a bounce pass by Rooks with 3:14 left in the game. The jumper gave MHS a 10-point advantage.
"When we extended the lead to 10 points, I thought that was key for us. Then we finally got on the foul line, and we were able to make foul shots," Overstake said. "They (MT) are a very good ball team, well-coached and know what they are doing. They just struggled on the shooting part of it. There are times when your defense can take credit for that, and there are times when teams are simply off."
MHS out-rebounded the Lady Panthers 34-27, with MHS gaining six offensive boards and MT gaining nine on the offensive side.
"We helped out each other tonight," Overstake said. "We did a much better job of keeping (Miami Trace) out of the paint on the dribble penetration."
With the game in-hand, Crabtree and Perie were the final two Lady Tigers to score.
MHS has two regular season games remaining. They will travel to Hillsboro on Wednesday in a make-up SCOL game and to Eastern Beaver on Thursday in their final game of the regular season, a non-league game.
"We have two games left this week, one in the league and one against first-place Eastern Beaver, in a non-league game," Overstake said. "They are first in their league."
The win lifts MHS to 13-5 overall and 9-2 in the SCOL. MT falls to 16-1 overall and 9-1 in the SCOL.
In the JV game, MHS defeated MT, 34-32. Leading MHS was Tara Karnes with 15 points. Felicity Peabody scored nine, and Makenzie Olaker netted seven. Cierra Landrum added two points, and Katy Unger scored one in the JV game. Leading MT in JV play was Ashley Henry with 15 points.
GAME NOTES: MHS had 17 turnovers, while MT had 10 … MT tallied 10 steals to the Lady Tigers' seven … MHS had five total blocks, with Crabtree tallying three and Wise and Rooks each having one … MT had zero blocks … Starters for MHS were Wise, Hogle, Cobb, Perie and Crabtree … Audra (Cook) Branham was honored before the game as she will be inducted into the Cleveland State Hall of Fame this weekend.[[In-content Ad]]
Seniors Megan Hogle, Chrissy Cobb and Frankie Wise got a win in their final home game, due in large part to not only their play, but the play of other Lady Tigers who helped control all aspects of the SCOL must-win game for MHS.
All three seniors scored points for MHS, with Cobb scoring seven, Hogle five and Wise two points. Cobb added three rebounds, four steals, four assists and one taken charge (in the second quarter with 3:01 remaining.) Hogle added one rebound, and Wise had four boards, one steal and one assist.
"These three seniors are the last three out of the 15 that were on a seventh grade team," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said. "They come to play every night and with the help of their teammates, every night at practice we have gotten better, and hopefully we aren't done yet."
The win puts MHS one game behind MT in the standings of the SCOL with a league record of 9-2. The Lady Panthers are 9-1 in the SCOL with games against Clinton-Massie (Thursday) and Madison-Plains remaining. MHS has one SCOL game left against Hillsboro on Wednesday at Hillsboro. Clinton-Massie also has two losses in the league.
MHS has not won an SCOL title since 1991, and MT has won the past seven championships since the league reformed in 2003.
But on Monday night, the Lady Tigers avenged their 50-46 loss to Miami Trace from earlier in the season at The Panther Pit with a balance of rebounding, shooting and taking advantage of Miami Trace miscues.
Miami Trace never led in the game as they shot 25 percent from the field (13-of-52). MHS shot 44 percent at 18-of-41.
"They (MT) struggled shooting the ball, and that was a key to the win tonight," Overstake said. "When you take in account Ashley (Lawson) had nine, she is capable of scoring double figures."
The win by MHS also breaks a three-game losing skid to MT dating back to their second meeting last season. In their last eight meetings, the Lady Panthers and Lady Tigers are an even 4-4 against each other. They could possibly meet one more time this season in the Division II SE District Sectional tournament if they both win their first-round games next week. MHS will take on Logan Elm, and MT will face the winner of Hillsboro and Waverly.
Though they have the possibility to meet again, the game on Monday night was dominated with the play of junior Jenna Perie. Perie powered her way in the post with a game-high 22 rebounds, along with 13 points. She was 3-of-5 from the free-throw line and made five baskets from the floor.
"When Jenna cleans up the boards like she did tonight, for a 5-6 post player, that is playing pretty well," Overstake said. "Jenna handled the ball in the open court, doing things we don't normally ask of her. She's doing things because that's what needs to be done for the team."
The first eight minutes was a quarter where each team looked to see what the other had to offer, but it was Cobb who was first to score 40 seconds into the contest with a jumper. The first frame had the only 3-pointer by the Lady Tigers when Hogle drained a 3-point basket, while under the pressure of the Lady Panthers' defense to put MHS up 7-3 with 3:26 left on the scoreboard.
MT came back within one point of tying the game, but MHS took a 10-8 lead once the quarter was completed.
Perie went on a tear at the start of the second with the quarter's first four points to put MHS up 14-8. Perie scored eight of the 10 Lady Tigers' points in the second with Sammy Rooks scoring the other two. Rooks finished with six points.
Unofficially, in the first half MT shot 8-of-28, missing their first six shots of the game.
McClain continued their follow-the-leader play in the final two quarters, winning the third at 12-8.
"There were two big keys in the third, one being we got the lead and we kept the lead," Overstake said. "They couldn't get the lead tonight and when we played at their place, it was the same situation where we couldn't get the lead. We could never get over that hump when we played at their place."
Cobb began the second half with a jumper, and Kate Crabtree added two points with a put-back basket in the paint for a 24-20 Lady Tiger lead with 6:10 left in the third quarter.
Hogle put MHS back up four points after Miami Trace's Deidre McKay made a basket. McKay led the Lady Panthers with 11 points.
One of the big problems for MT was their free-throw shooting. In the third quarter alone, they were 2-for-6, and for the second half, they went 5-of-14. For the game, MT was 7-of-18 (39 percent) from the charity stripe.
MHS entered the final eight-minute period with a six-point lead (32-26).
In the fourth, Perie and Crabtree put MHS up nine points at 36-27. Perie scored after a timeout was called, and Crabtree sank two shots from the free-throw line. Crabtree led all scorers with 14 points, scoring 12 in the second half.
The MHS defense caused problems in the paint with their rebounding, and the offense continued to take advantage with buckets by Cobb and Crabtree, who gained possession of the ball off a bounce pass by Rooks with 3:14 left in the game. The jumper gave MHS a 10-point advantage.
"When we extended the lead to 10 points, I thought that was key for us. Then we finally got on the foul line, and we were able to make foul shots," Overstake said. "They (MT) are a very good ball team, well-coached and know what they are doing. They just struggled on the shooting part of it. There are times when your defense can take credit for that, and there are times when teams are simply off."
MHS out-rebounded the Lady Panthers 34-27, with MHS gaining six offensive boards and MT gaining nine on the offensive side.
"We helped out each other tonight," Overstake said. "We did a much better job of keeping (Miami Trace) out of the paint on the dribble penetration."
With the game in-hand, Crabtree and Perie were the final two Lady Tigers to score.
MHS has two regular season games remaining. They will travel to Hillsboro on Wednesday in a make-up SCOL game and to Eastern Beaver on Thursday in their final game of the regular season, a non-league game.
"We have two games left this week, one in the league and one against first-place Eastern Beaver, in a non-league game," Overstake said. "They are first in their league."
The win lifts MHS to 13-5 overall and 9-2 in the SCOL. MT falls to 16-1 overall and 9-1 in the SCOL.
In the JV game, MHS defeated MT, 34-32. Leading MHS was Tara Karnes with 15 points. Felicity Peabody scored nine, and Makenzie Olaker netted seven. Cierra Landrum added two points, and Katy Unger scored one in the JV game. Leading MT in JV play was Ashley Henry with 15 points.
GAME NOTES: MHS had 17 turnovers, while MT had 10 … MT tallied 10 steals to the Lady Tigers' seven … MHS had five total blocks, with Crabtree tallying three and Wise and Rooks each having one … MT had zero blocks … Starters for MHS were Wise, Hogle, Cobb, Perie and Crabtree … Audra (Cook) Branham was honored before the game as she will be inducted into the Cleveland State Hall of Fame this weekend.[[In-content Ad]]