Lady Tigers power way to sectional championship
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
FRANKFORT — The McClain Lady Tigers are headed to the Division II SE District tournament.
Using defense to set the tone in what was a physical battle with the Logan Elm Lady Braves, the Lady Tigers didn't allow a comeback by LE this year, defeating the Lady Braves 41-29 Saturday afternoon (at Adena High School), winning the sectional championship and stamping their ticket to the district tournament.
One year ago, the Lady Tigers entered the final frame tied at 40 with Logan Elm, only to eventually fall in the sectional opener … not this year.
"We knew coming in this was going to be a physical ball game. They had almost all the same players back they had last year, and it was a physical ball game last year," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "Our defense is what won us the ball game here (Saturday)."
Just like one year ago where defense was the difference, the Lady Tigers finished with the upper hand by holding the Lady Braves to nine points in the first half, including three points in the first frame, as the Lady Braves missed unofficially their first 13 field goal attempts in the game.
"They (LE) didn't shoot the ball very well, and you would like to give yourself some credit with that," Overstake said. "Offensively, we did well at the beginning of the ball game, and in the second half, we tried to take care of the ball, and that limited the number of shots we had."
In their 21-point first frame, LE scored first with a free throw, but following their one point, the Lady Tigers (15-6) went on a 10-0 run with points by Shania Massie, Brittany Mullikin, Jenna Perie and Sammy Rooks.
For the game, MHS shot 13-of-34 for 38 percent from the field, while LE was 8-of-44 for 18 percent from the field.
LE (15-7) scored their first field goal with five seconds left in the first, trailing by seven points after eight minutes.
Leading all scorers were Rooks and Perie with 10 points each for the Lady Tigers. Massie followed with nine. Perie totaled a double-double by adding 15 rebounds (three offensive).
Leading the Lady Braves was Nikki Young with nine points, followed by Brooke Gardner with seven. Taylor Saxton tallied five points.
MHS extended their lead to 12 points at the start of the second with Rooks opening the quarter with a wide-open 3-pointer, followed by two free throws by Tara Karnes, giving MHS a 15-3 lead with 5:12 left in the opening half. Karnes ended the game with six points and five rebounds.
Following the Lady Braves scoring six of the next eight points, the Lady Tigers switched up their defense to a zone look, making another difference in the contest.
"When their bigger girl came in, that was our game plan to switch to the zone," Overstake said. "When I saw them play last Friday night, they isolated her one-on-one in the post and threw the ball to her. The team they were playing last week just couldn't contain her, so our objective was to go zone whenever she was in the ball game and limit her touches."
McClain ended the second with four points, all by Perie … including a basket at the buzzer for a 21-9 halftime lead.
LE outscored MHS in the third at 7-6, as LE never got closer than within 11 points of tying the score as points by Taylor Faulconer, Perie and Karnes kept the Lady Braves at bay for a lead of 27-16.
[[In-content Ad]]In the fourth, the Lady Braves attempted a rally, cutting the Lady Tigers' lead to single digits on four separate occasions, but MHS stood tall, outscoring LE 14-13 in the eight-minute quarter.
The Lady Braves opened the fourth with five straight points, making it an eight-point game at 27-19 with 7:10 left in regulation.
Massie made two free throws in four chances, followed later on with points by Rooks and Karnes, giving MHS a lead of 33-19.
Logan Elm tried one last time to rally for a win, scoring 10 of the next 14 points put up on the scoreboard, including two 3-pointers, cutting the Lady Tigers' lead to 37-29 with 2:35 left in regulation.
That was as far as LE got, with MHS ending the game with points by Faulconer and Massie.
Again, this win was credited to the defense.
"When we won six in a row this year, and then we lost to Court House, then we come back and won a couple more, then lost to Trace … we never gave up on our defense," Overstake said. "Our defense was still playing strong, it was just the amount of offense we were getting."
Overstake said there are some things he wants to work on in the next week.
"I don't why we are struggling with our free-throw shooting (14-of-27)," he said. "We did practice it this week."
MHS will play again on Saturday, Feb. 25 against Marietta (19-2) at Southeastern High School at noon in the district semifinals. Marietta defeated Vinton County 63-61 on Saturday.
"They have a junior who has been playing well lately, so that's one of the players we are going to have to look at," Overstake said. "They are a very strong team, and we are going to have to sit down and look at what we have scouting-wise on them.
"We have five days, but we have a 12 p.m. start on Saturday."
GAME NOTES: MHS was 14-of-27 (52 percent) from the free-throw line … LE was 11-of-16 from the free-throw line (69 percent) … MHS committed 14 fouls (four in first half) … MHS totaled 30 rebounds (seven offensive) … Perie took one charge … MHS had three steals … MHS committed 10 turnovers … MHS tallied six assists … LE had 15 rebounds (eight offensive), one blocked shot, one taken charge, five steals, six turnovers and one assist … LE committed 18 fouls.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LE 03 06 07 13 — 29
MHS 10 11 06 14 — 41
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MHS (41)
S.Rooks 1 (1) 5-8 10
T.Faulconer 2 (0) 0-0 4
S.Massie 3 (0) 3-10 9
B.Mullikin 1 (0) 0-0 2
J.Perie 3 (0) 4-7 10
T.Karnes 2 (0) 2-2 6
TOTALS: 12 (1) 14-27 41
LE (29)
N.Young 3 (0) 3-4 9
A.Adcock 0 (0) 2-2 2
B.Pontius 0 (1) 0-0 3
T.Saxton 0 (1) 2-4 5
M.Huffman 1 (0) 0-0 2
K.Strong 0 (0) 1-2 1
TOTALS: 6 (2) 11-16 29
Using defense to set the tone in what was a physical battle with the Logan Elm Lady Braves, the Lady Tigers didn't allow a comeback by LE this year, defeating the Lady Braves 41-29 Saturday afternoon (at Adena High School), winning the sectional championship and stamping their ticket to the district tournament.
One year ago, the Lady Tigers entered the final frame tied at 40 with Logan Elm, only to eventually fall in the sectional opener … not this year.
"We knew coming in this was going to be a physical ball game. They had almost all the same players back they had last year, and it was a physical ball game last year," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "Our defense is what won us the ball game here (Saturday)."
Just like one year ago where defense was the difference, the Lady Tigers finished with the upper hand by holding the Lady Braves to nine points in the first half, including three points in the first frame, as the Lady Braves missed unofficially their first 13 field goal attempts in the game.
"They (LE) didn't shoot the ball very well, and you would like to give yourself some credit with that," Overstake said. "Offensively, we did well at the beginning of the ball game, and in the second half, we tried to take care of the ball, and that limited the number of shots we had."
In their 21-point first frame, LE scored first with a free throw, but following their one point, the Lady Tigers (15-6) went on a 10-0 run with points by Shania Massie, Brittany Mullikin, Jenna Perie and Sammy Rooks.
For the game, MHS shot 13-of-34 for 38 percent from the field, while LE was 8-of-44 for 18 percent from the field.
LE (15-7) scored their first field goal with five seconds left in the first, trailing by seven points after eight minutes.
Leading all scorers were Rooks and Perie with 10 points each for the Lady Tigers. Massie followed with nine. Perie totaled a double-double by adding 15 rebounds (three offensive).
Leading the Lady Braves was Nikki Young with nine points, followed by Brooke Gardner with seven. Taylor Saxton tallied five points.
MHS extended their lead to 12 points at the start of the second with Rooks opening the quarter with a wide-open 3-pointer, followed by two free throws by Tara Karnes, giving MHS a 15-3 lead with 5:12 left in the opening half. Karnes ended the game with six points and five rebounds.
Following the Lady Braves scoring six of the next eight points, the Lady Tigers switched up their defense to a zone look, making another difference in the contest.
"When their bigger girl came in, that was our game plan to switch to the zone," Overstake said. "When I saw them play last Friday night, they isolated her one-on-one in the post and threw the ball to her. The team they were playing last week just couldn't contain her, so our objective was to go zone whenever she was in the ball game and limit her touches."
McClain ended the second with four points, all by Perie … including a basket at the buzzer for a 21-9 halftime lead.
LE outscored MHS in the third at 7-6, as LE never got closer than within 11 points of tying the score as points by Taylor Faulconer, Perie and Karnes kept the Lady Braves at bay for a lead of 27-16.
[[In-content Ad]]In the fourth, the Lady Braves attempted a rally, cutting the Lady Tigers' lead to single digits on four separate occasions, but MHS stood tall, outscoring LE 14-13 in the eight-minute quarter.
The Lady Braves opened the fourth with five straight points, making it an eight-point game at 27-19 with 7:10 left in regulation.
Massie made two free throws in four chances, followed later on with points by Rooks and Karnes, giving MHS a lead of 33-19.
Logan Elm tried one last time to rally for a win, scoring 10 of the next 14 points put up on the scoreboard, including two 3-pointers, cutting the Lady Tigers' lead to 37-29 with 2:35 left in regulation.
That was as far as LE got, with MHS ending the game with points by Faulconer and Massie.
Again, this win was credited to the defense.
"When we won six in a row this year, and then we lost to Court House, then we come back and won a couple more, then lost to Trace … we never gave up on our defense," Overstake said. "Our defense was still playing strong, it was just the amount of offense we were getting."
Overstake said there are some things he wants to work on in the next week.
"I don't why we are struggling with our free-throw shooting (14-of-27)," he said. "We did practice it this week."
MHS will play again on Saturday, Feb. 25 against Marietta (19-2) at Southeastern High School at noon in the district semifinals. Marietta defeated Vinton County 63-61 on Saturday.
"They have a junior who has been playing well lately, so that's one of the players we are going to have to look at," Overstake said. "They are a very strong team, and we are going to have to sit down and look at what we have scouting-wise on them.
"We have five days, but we have a 12 p.m. start on Saturday."
GAME NOTES: MHS was 14-of-27 (52 percent) from the free-throw line … LE was 11-of-16 from the free-throw line (69 percent) … MHS committed 14 fouls (four in first half) … MHS totaled 30 rebounds (seven offensive) … Perie took one charge … MHS had three steals … MHS committed 10 turnovers … MHS tallied six assists … LE had 15 rebounds (eight offensive), one blocked shot, one taken charge, five steals, six turnovers and one assist … LE committed 18 fouls.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LE 03 06 07 13 — 29
MHS 10 11 06 14 — 41
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MHS (41)
S.Rooks 1 (1) 5-8 10
T.Faulconer 2 (0) 0-0 4
S.Massie 3 (0) 3-10 9
B.Mullikin 1 (0) 0-0 2
J.Perie 3 (0) 4-7 10
T.Karnes 2 (0) 2-2 6
TOTALS: 12 (1) 14-27 41
LE (29)
N.Young 3 (0) 3-4 9
A.Adcock 0 (0) 2-2 2
B.Pontius 0 (1) 0-0 3
T.Saxton 0 (1) 2-4 5
M.Huffman 1 (0) 0-0 2
K.Strong 0 (0) 1-2 1
TOTALS: 6 (2) 11-16 29