McClain wraps up SCOL slate; defeats county rival Hillsboro
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — Two days following their biggest win of the season, the McClain Lady Tigers had to finish the job at hand Wednesday against Hillsboro. Though the Lady Tigers did gain their 10th league win of the season by defeating the Lady Indians 60-31, they now have to wait-and-see if they will get a share of the league title.
After making halftime adjustments, the Lady Tigers controlled the second half, and with that, put themselves in position to be a tri-champion or possibly a co-champion of the league, depending on what happens between the Miami Trace Panthers and Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons, Thursday night. If CM defeats MT, then there will be a three-way tie in the SCOL.
If MT defeats CM, then the Lady Panthers will still have one league game remaining on the schedule, against Madison-Plains. With the win Wednesday, MHS is guaranteed no less than second place in the league.
"We put ourselves in this position with the early league losses, but with our backs against the wall, the girls came back and did well in the second round of SCOL games," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said. "It all comes down to two good teams playing each other on Thursday."
So the wait-and-see game begins for the now 14-5 Lady Tigers. They are 10-2 in the SCOL.
For the game against the Lady Indians, MHS shot 23-of-57 for 40 percent from the field. HHS was 14-of-44 for 32 percent.
After a first half where MHS led 26-17, the Lady Tigers outscored the cross-county rival 34-14 in the final two quarters.
"The biggest difference was Greenfield started making their shots in the second half," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "We started to lose our confidence. Then we started to press to make it all up at one time, and you can't do that."
McClain was led in scoring by Chrissy Cobb with 21 points, with 11 coming in the first half. Cobb added six rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocked shots. Cobb is averaging just over 13 ppg. this year, tallying 255 points through 19 games.
"Chrissy handled the ball really well. When we get into a transition break, she's usually the one leading it for us," Overstake said.
Megan Hogle also had a productive game for the Lady Tigers, finishing with 11 points. Hogle, a senior, sank three 3-pointers in the third quarter. She added four rebounds, three steals and one assist.
With help from the three treys by Hogle, MHS ended the third up 48-25.
Hillsboro's Maggie Tamborski was first to score in the third with a 3-ball to bring HHS within six points of the MHS lead.
The game went in the favor of MHS when Hogle stole the ball from HHS, finding Cobb, who sank a jumper while being fouled with 6:22 left in the quarter. Cobb converted the three-point play. Hogle, less than a minute later, sank her first 3-pointer of the game.
After Frankie Wise made 2-of-3 from the free-throw line, it was the duo of Cobb and Hogle that helped MHS break away from the Lady Indians.
Near the 5:00 mark of the third, Hogle stole the ball, passed to Cobb while in transition, and Cobb found Hogle who sank a 3-pointer for a 37-21 Lady Tiger advantage.
Hillsboro's Jenni Willey stopped the MHS scoring with two points of her own. Willey led HHS in scoring with 18 points. Willey scored 12 of her 18 points in the first half.
"Jenni had a good night. She was more aggressive taking the ball to the basket," Moberly said. "She's had to work a little harder to get those open looks because teams have been keying on her. She still battles and finds a way to get it done."
Wise answered Willey's points with a 3-pointer as MHS doubled the score of HHS at 46-23.
The game slowed down a bit in the final eight minutes as MHS won the frame, 12-6. Scoring in the fourth for HHS were Taylor Moberly, Brooke Shafer and Willey. Scoring for MHS in the same frame were Cobb, Kate Crabtree and Kaitlyn Faulconer. Faulconer made a 3-pointer with 1:11 left in the game, as she finished with eight points.
If the second half proved to be the 16 minutes where the Lady Tigers ran away with the game, the first half was not as easy.
Hogle was first to score in the game with a long-range jumper, followed with points from Cobb and Jenna Perie for a early 6-0 lead. Perie left the game in the second quarter with a leg injury and did not return. On the season, Perie is averaging 7.6 ppg., along with 7.9 rebounds per game. On Monday, she grabbed 22 boards against MT. When she left the game Wednesday, she had eight rebounds and six points.
With MHS leading 6-0, HHS answered with four straight points by Maggie Tamborski, leaving 4:20 in the first quarter. Tamborski finished with six points.
MHS topped the feat with baskets by Perie, Cobb and Sammy Rooks, for a 12-4 lead. The first ended with Willey and Taylor Faulconer scoring points for their respective teams.
Cobb scored a majority of the Lady Tigers' points in the second quarter with a 3-pointer and two two-point baskets. Also adding points to the McClain total in the second were Taylor Faulconer, Crabtree and Perie.
"We didn't do a good job defensively in the first half," Overstake said. "They were running some different offensives, and we were just running into screens and not really paying attention to what we should be doing. We just didn't move our feet real well, and their coach got them into the full-court press. That was the same thing we had to do last time."
The loss drops HHS to 3-16 overall and 0-11 in the SCOL. They have one regular season game left, hosting London on Saturday night for their Senior Night game. MHS plays their final regular season game Thursday night, traveling to face Eastern Beaver, a non-league contest.
In JV play Wednesday, MHS defeated HHS, 28-26. Leading MHS were Tara Karnes with 10 points and Makenzie Olaker with nine. Applegate led HHS with 10 points, and Price had five.
GAME NOTES: The win Wednesday gives MHS head coach Dennis Overstake 474 career victories as varsity coach ... Taylor Faulconer had five rebounds … Kaitlyn Faulconer tallied three rebounds … Brittany Mullikin had two rebounds and two assists … Crabtree had three rebounds, two assists and one steal … Olaker had one assist … Wise tallied three assists and two steals. MHS committed 17 turnovers, and HHS had 18 … HHS totaled 24 rebounds (MHS 33 rebounds), two blocked shots, five steals and 11 assists … HHS was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line … MHS was 8-of-12 from the free-throw line. MHS had eight fouls … HHS had 10 fouls.[[In-content Ad]]
After making halftime adjustments, the Lady Tigers controlled the second half, and with that, put themselves in position to be a tri-champion or possibly a co-champion of the league, depending on what happens between the Miami Trace Panthers and Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons, Thursday night. If CM defeats MT, then there will be a three-way tie in the SCOL.
If MT defeats CM, then the Lady Panthers will still have one league game remaining on the schedule, against Madison-Plains. With the win Wednesday, MHS is guaranteed no less than second place in the league.
"We put ourselves in this position with the early league losses, but with our backs against the wall, the girls came back and did well in the second round of SCOL games," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said. "It all comes down to two good teams playing each other on Thursday."
So the wait-and-see game begins for the now 14-5 Lady Tigers. They are 10-2 in the SCOL.
For the game against the Lady Indians, MHS shot 23-of-57 for 40 percent from the field. HHS was 14-of-44 for 32 percent.
After a first half where MHS led 26-17, the Lady Tigers outscored the cross-county rival 34-14 in the final two quarters.
"The biggest difference was Greenfield started making their shots in the second half," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "We started to lose our confidence. Then we started to press to make it all up at one time, and you can't do that."
McClain was led in scoring by Chrissy Cobb with 21 points, with 11 coming in the first half. Cobb added six rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocked shots. Cobb is averaging just over 13 ppg. this year, tallying 255 points through 19 games.
"Chrissy handled the ball really well. When we get into a transition break, she's usually the one leading it for us," Overstake said.
Megan Hogle also had a productive game for the Lady Tigers, finishing with 11 points. Hogle, a senior, sank three 3-pointers in the third quarter. She added four rebounds, three steals and one assist.
With help from the three treys by Hogle, MHS ended the third up 48-25.
Hillsboro's Maggie Tamborski was first to score in the third with a 3-ball to bring HHS within six points of the MHS lead.
The game went in the favor of MHS when Hogle stole the ball from HHS, finding Cobb, who sank a jumper while being fouled with 6:22 left in the quarter. Cobb converted the three-point play. Hogle, less than a minute later, sank her first 3-pointer of the game.
After Frankie Wise made 2-of-3 from the free-throw line, it was the duo of Cobb and Hogle that helped MHS break away from the Lady Indians.
Near the 5:00 mark of the third, Hogle stole the ball, passed to Cobb while in transition, and Cobb found Hogle who sank a 3-pointer for a 37-21 Lady Tiger advantage.
Hillsboro's Jenni Willey stopped the MHS scoring with two points of her own. Willey led HHS in scoring with 18 points. Willey scored 12 of her 18 points in the first half.
"Jenni had a good night. She was more aggressive taking the ball to the basket," Moberly said. "She's had to work a little harder to get those open looks because teams have been keying on her. She still battles and finds a way to get it done."
Wise answered Willey's points with a 3-pointer as MHS doubled the score of HHS at 46-23.
The game slowed down a bit in the final eight minutes as MHS won the frame, 12-6. Scoring in the fourth for HHS were Taylor Moberly, Brooke Shafer and Willey. Scoring for MHS in the same frame were Cobb, Kate Crabtree and Kaitlyn Faulconer. Faulconer made a 3-pointer with 1:11 left in the game, as she finished with eight points.
If the second half proved to be the 16 minutes where the Lady Tigers ran away with the game, the first half was not as easy.
Hogle was first to score in the game with a long-range jumper, followed with points from Cobb and Jenna Perie for a early 6-0 lead. Perie left the game in the second quarter with a leg injury and did not return. On the season, Perie is averaging 7.6 ppg., along with 7.9 rebounds per game. On Monday, she grabbed 22 boards against MT. When she left the game Wednesday, she had eight rebounds and six points.
With MHS leading 6-0, HHS answered with four straight points by Maggie Tamborski, leaving 4:20 in the first quarter. Tamborski finished with six points.
MHS topped the feat with baskets by Perie, Cobb and Sammy Rooks, for a 12-4 lead. The first ended with Willey and Taylor Faulconer scoring points for their respective teams.
Cobb scored a majority of the Lady Tigers' points in the second quarter with a 3-pointer and two two-point baskets. Also adding points to the McClain total in the second were Taylor Faulconer, Crabtree and Perie.
"We didn't do a good job defensively in the first half," Overstake said. "They were running some different offensives, and we were just running into screens and not really paying attention to what we should be doing. We just didn't move our feet real well, and their coach got them into the full-court press. That was the same thing we had to do last time."
The loss drops HHS to 3-16 overall and 0-11 in the SCOL. They have one regular season game left, hosting London on Saturday night for their Senior Night game. MHS plays their final regular season game Thursday night, traveling to face Eastern Beaver, a non-league contest.
In JV play Wednesday, MHS defeated HHS, 28-26. Leading MHS were Tara Karnes with 10 points and Makenzie Olaker with nine. Applegate led HHS with 10 points, and Price had five.
GAME NOTES: The win Wednesday gives MHS head coach Dennis Overstake 474 career victories as varsity coach ... Taylor Faulconer had five rebounds … Kaitlyn Faulconer tallied three rebounds … Brittany Mullikin had two rebounds and two assists … Crabtree had three rebounds, two assists and one steal … Olaker had one assist … Wise tallied three assists and two steals. MHS committed 17 turnovers, and HHS had 18 … HHS totaled 24 rebounds (MHS 33 rebounds), two blocked shots, five steals and 11 assists … HHS was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line … MHS was 8-of-12 from the free-throw line. MHS had eight fouls … HHS had 10 fouls.[[In-content Ad]]