Lady Tigers rally to defeat Clinton-Massie
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — A 3-pointer from a post player, added with defense and other clutch shooting in the final minutes all meshed together for a season-opening McClain Lady Tigers win.
The Wednesday evening win at McClain High School saw sophomore Beth Montgomery step out for a 3-pointer with 3:36 left in the quarter to bring the host Lady Tigers within five points.
That shot was the start of MHS outscoring the reigning South Central Ohio League champions 14-3 in that final 3:36 to not only open the 2014-15 season with a win, but to start off South Central Ohio League play with a victory by a 42-39 score.
"It wasn't a pretty win, but a win is a win and we'll take it anyway we can," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "Our girls were nervous. We played a lot of girls who haven't had much varsity time.
"We didn't play defense very well, but the trap we had on them in the last three minutes was the difference where we forced a couple turnovers."
Haines said the 3-pointer by Montgomery wasn't "drawn up," but she has "the green light" when she's open for the shot. On Wednesday night, Montgomery went full throttle through the green light, and it paid big dividends.
The 3-pointer by Montgomery brought the Lady Tigers to within five points of tying the lead held by Clinton-Massie at 36-31.
"When Beth hit that huge three … that was a momentum changer," Haines said. "We did not draw that up. She's got the green light and she was open, made the shot and that gave our kids confidence."
That lead didn't stay at five for the visitors with sophomore Taylor Polley maneuvering around the CM defense and sinking a layup in the paint with 2:55 on the fourth-quarter clock, making it a three-point deficit.
It was Polley who also made it a one-possession game by sinking two consecutive free throws with 2:36 left on the scoreboard. From there in what may be the smoothest play of the entire game, Lexie Barton passed the ball to Polley, who then found Malea Montavon for two points in the fast break. That sequence put the Lady Tigers ahead, 37-36 with 2:13 on the clock.
CM answered with a free throw, but Montgomery was there with a free throw of her own, followed by three more free-throw conversions to regain the lead at 39-38.
MHS called a timeout with 25.2 left in regulation, and from there, they responded with senior Shania Massie gaining her own rebound on a missed shot, but she "rebounded" with a put-back basket in the paint for an MHS lead with 3.7 seconds left in the game.
The Lady Falcons had one possession left, but Montavon intercepted the in-bounds pass under the hoop and scored two final points at the buzzer.
"We didn't play the defense we wanted for the entire game, and some of the older kids did't perform like they wanted to, but tomorrow is a new day and we'll get better," Haines said. "Defensively, it just wasn't us, and we're better than that."
As for Massie, the McClain senior led with 19 points, leaving her just 13 points away from becoming the fifth McClain Lady Tigers player to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
Massie also led MHS with seven rebounds.
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Leading all scorers was Clinton-Massie sophomore Miquela Santoro with 23 points, as she was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
As for the first three quarters, the host Lady Tigers didn't play with their usual defensive prowess and were off with their shooting, trailing 8-4 after the first quarter and 18-16 at halftime.
In all, both teams combined for 45 turnovers, leading to some of the rushed shots by each team. McClain continued to trail after three quarters still by two points at 27-25.
Before the clutch 3-pointer by Montgomery, it was Polley who tied the score at 27-27 with 6:41 left in the fourth, followed with CM building a 9-1 run to take a 36-28 advantage. That run was then ended with the aforementioned 3-pointer by Montgomery.
In JV action, the Lady Tigers defeated CM, 27-21. Leading MHS were Sara Bennett with eight points and Brooke Kline with six. Madison Newton led the CM JV team with nine points.
The Lady Tigers will play again on Saturday, Dec. 6 when they host the Wilmington Lady Hurricane in SCOL play, starting with JV play at noon.
The Wednesday evening win at McClain High School saw sophomore Beth Montgomery step out for a 3-pointer with 3:36 left in the quarter to bring the host Lady Tigers within five points.
That shot was the start of MHS outscoring the reigning South Central Ohio League champions 14-3 in that final 3:36 to not only open the 2014-15 season with a win, but to start off South Central Ohio League play with a victory by a 42-39 score.
"It wasn't a pretty win, but a win is a win and we'll take it anyway we can," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "Our girls were nervous. We played a lot of girls who haven't had much varsity time.
"We didn't play defense very well, but the trap we had on them in the last three minutes was the difference where we forced a couple turnovers."
Haines said the 3-pointer by Montgomery wasn't "drawn up," but she has "the green light" when she's open for the shot. On Wednesday night, Montgomery went full throttle through the green light, and it paid big dividends.
The 3-pointer by Montgomery brought the Lady Tigers to within five points of tying the lead held by Clinton-Massie at 36-31.
"When Beth hit that huge three … that was a momentum changer," Haines said. "We did not draw that up. She's got the green light and she was open, made the shot and that gave our kids confidence."
That lead didn't stay at five for the visitors with sophomore Taylor Polley maneuvering around the CM defense and sinking a layup in the paint with 2:55 on the fourth-quarter clock, making it a three-point deficit.
It was Polley who also made it a one-possession game by sinking two consecutive free throws with 2:36 left on the scoreboard. From there in what may be the smoothest play of the entire game, Lexie Barton passed the ball to Polley, who then found Malea Montavon for two points in the fast break. That sequence put the Lady Tigers ahead, 37-36 with 2:13 on the clock.
CM answered with a free throw, but Montgomery was there with a free throw of her own, followed by three more free-throw conversions to regain the lead at 39-38.
MHS called a timeout with 25.2 left in regulation, and from there, they responded with senior Shania Massie gaining her own rebound on a missed shot, but she "rebounded" with a put-back basket in the paint for an MHS lead with 3.7 seconds left in the game.
The Lady Falcons had one possession left, but Montavon intercepted the in-bounds pass under the hoop and scored two final points at the buzzer.
"We didn't play the defense we wanted for the entire game, and some of the older kids did't perform like they wanted to, but tomorrow is a new day and we'll get better," Haines said. "Defensively, it just wasn't us, and we're better than that."
As for Massie, the McClain senior led with 19 points, leaving her just 13 points away from becoming the fifth McClain Lady Tigers player to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
Massie also led MHS with seven rebounds.
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Leading all scorers was Clinton-Massie sophomore Miquela Santoro with 23 points, as she was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
As for the first three quarters, the host Lady Tigers didn't play with their usual defensive prowess and were off with their shooting, trailing 8-4 after the first quarter and 18-16 at halftime.
In all, both teams combined for 45 turnovers, leading to some of the rushed shots by each team. McClain continued to trail after three quarters still by two points at 27-25.
Before the clutch 3-pointer by Montgomery, it was Polley who tied the score at 27-27 with 6:41 left in the fourth, followed with CM building a 9-1 run to take a 36-28 advantage. That run was then ended with the aforementioned 3-pointer by Montgomery.
In JV action, the Lady Tigers defeated CM, 27-21. Leading MHS were Sara Bennett with eight points and Brooke Kline with six. Madison Newton led the CM JV team with nine points.
The Lady Tigers will play again on Saturday, Dec. 6 when they host the Wilmington Lady Hurricane in SCOL play, starting with JV play at noon.