Second half dooms Lady Mustangs in SHL loss to Peebles
Lead Summary

By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — Everything fell apart in the last eight minutes for the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs Thursday night at LCHS against the Peebles Lady Indians. Entering the final frame tied at 22, LC was outscored 29-6 in that quarter for a 51-28 Southern Hills League loss.
Nothing went right for LC, not only in the fourth, but in the entire second half, with PHS tallying 39 points to the 10 points by the Lady Mustangs. LC also committed 20 turnovers in the final two quarters.
"We didn't get to practice any on Tuesday and Wednesday, but still, that is no excuse for how we played (Thursday)," LC head coach Tiffany Barnett said. "I anticipated we might come out flat, but we didn't in the first half. We played better in the half than I thought we would.
"But it was night-and-day in the second half. We looked tired. We aren't deep, but the girls are used to that."
Entering the game the Lady Indians (4-2, 9-3) had a three-game winning streak with wins over Felicity, North Adams and West Union … add LC to the list for a current four-game win streak.
In this current run of wins, PHS is averaging 56.3 points per game, while allowing 36.8. In their last two games, the Lady Indians have held their opponents to 28 points in each outing.
On Thursday, LC (2-3, 5-4) just couldn't keep a handle on the basketball and didn't keep PHS off the free-throw line as they were 19-of-21 from the line in the final eight minutes and 23-of-30 for the game. At one point in the fourth, PHS made 15 straight free throws.
"(Peebles') press wasn't better than anyone else's that we've played. They also played us in the zone, but so do a lot of teams, we just didn't know what to do with it," Barnett said.
It took 15 seconds for PHS to take the lead in the fourth with a jumper from freshman Alex Carson, followed at the 6:26 mark with points from freshman Sidney Pell. LC came back with two free-throws by Lillian Blankenship, but after those two points, PHS took control for good.
A put-back basket was scored by Haley Stratton, followed with points from Carson, Brooke Dunn, and Shaylin McDaniels for a 12-0 run, giving PHS a 38-24 lead with 2:55 remaining in regulation.
LC managed four more points in the frame, all by Laney Lewis off free throws.
PHS was led in scoring by Pell with 14 points, scoring 12 in the second half, with eight coming in the fourth off six free throws and a two-point basket. In her last four games, Pell has scoring of 18, 31, 7 and now 14 points for an average of 17.5 ppg.
Carson finished with 11 points, and Dunn had nine (all in the second half.)
LC was led in scoring by Lewis with 13 points. Lewis, a sophomore, added 14 rebounds for a double-double. Eight of her 14 boards were offensive.
Lewis began the game by scoring the first four points in the first quarter. LC jumped ahead to a 10-0 lead when Meredith Fittro, Brooke Hertlein and Lillian Blankenship (off a pass from Hannah Blankenship), all made baskets, leaving 2:45 remaining in the opening frame. LC led 12-4 after the first quarter.
In the second, LC was held to six points, while giving up eight. The Lady Mustangs led 18-12 at halftime.
"We have a good team and we have a bad team, but we aren't always great at keeping the bad team off the court," Barnett said.
The inside play of LC hurt their chances of adding another SHL win to their season total, being held to 16 points in the final three quarters.
"We don't have forwards who post up," Barnett said. "We've been working hard with them, but it's just an issue of being aggressive during the games."
The loss drops LC, the defending SHL Division I champions, to 2-3 in the league and 5-4 overall.
LC is scheduled to play again next Tuesday against Blanchester, a non-league opponent.
GAME NOTES: In their last four games, PHS has averaged 40.5 points during the first three quarters of a game … LC broke a two-game winning streak … In the first quarter, PHS had three consecutive turnovers … PHS broke the 10-0 first quarter run with points by Baylee Wallace … PHS has two freshman, two juniors and one senior in their starting lineup … Lewis made a block at the end of the third quarter to keep the score tied at 22.[[In-content Ad]]
Nothing went right for LC, not only in the fourth, but in the entire second half, with PHS tallying 39 points to the 10 points by the Lady Mustangs. LC also committed 20 turnovers in the final two quarters.
"We didn't get to practice any on Tuesday and Wednesday, but still, that is no excuse for how we played (Thursday)," LC head coach Tiffany Barnett said. "I anticipated we might come out flat, but we didn't in the first half. We played better in the half than I thought we would.
"But it was night-and-day in the second half. We looked tired. We aren't deep, but the girls are used to that."
Entering the game the Lady Indians (4-2, 9-3) had a three-game winning streak with wins over Felicity, North Adams and West Union … add LC to the list for a current four-game win streak.
In this current run of wins, PHS is averaging 56.3 points per game, while allowing 36.8. In their last two games, the Lady Indians have held their opponents to 28 points in each outing.
On Thursday, LC (2-3, 5-4) just couldn't keep a handle on the basketball and didn't keep PHS off the free-throw line as they were 19-of-21 from the line in the final eight minutes and 23-of-30 for the game. At one point in the fourth, PHS made 15 straight free throws.
"(Peebles') press wasn't better than anyone else's that we've played. They also played us in the zone, but so do a lot of teams, we just didn't know what to do with it," Barnett said.
It took 15 seconds for PHS to take the lead in the fourth with a jumper from freshman Alex Carson, followed at the 6:26 mark with points from freshman Sidney Pell. LC came back with two free-throws by Lillian Blankenship, but after those two points, PHS took control for good.
A put-back basket was scored by Haley Stratton, followed with points from Carson, Brooke Dunn, and Shaylin McDaniels for a 12-0 run, giving PHS a 38-24 lead with 2:55 remaining in regulation.
LC managed four more points in the frame, all by Laney Lewis off free throws.
PHS was led in scoring by Pell with 14 points, scoring 12 in the second half, with eight coming in the fourth off six free throws and a two-point basket. In her last four games, Pell has scoring of 18, 31, 7 and now 14 points for an average of 17.5 ppg.
Carson finished with 11 points, and Dunn had nine (all in the second half.)
LC was led in scoring by Lewis with 13 points. Lewis, a sophomore, added 14 rebounds for a double-double. Eight of her 14 boards were offensive.
Lewis began the game by scoring the first four points in the first quarter. LC jumped ahead to a 10-0 lead when Meredith Fittro, Brooke Hertlein and Lillian Blankenship (off a pass from Hannah Blankenship), all made baskets, leaving 2:45 remaining in the opening frame. LC led 12-4 after the first quarter.
In the second, LC was held to six points, while giving up eight. The Lady Mustangs led 18-12 at halftime.
"We have a good team and we have a bad team, but we aren't always great at keeping the bad team off the court," Barnett said.
The inside play of LC hurt their chances of adding another SHL win to their season total, being held to 16 points in the final three quarters.
"We don't have forwards who post up," Barnett said. "We've been working hard with them, but it's just an issue of being aggressive during the games."
The loss drops LC, the defending SHL Division I champions, to 2-3 in the league and 5-4 overall.
LC is scheduled to play again next Tuesday against Blanchester, a non-league opponent.
GAME NOTES: In their last four games, PHS has averaged 40.5 points during the first three quarters of a game … LC broke a two-game winning streak … In the first quarter, PHS had three consecutive turnovers … PHS broke the 10-0 first quarter run with points by Baylee Wallace … PHS has two freshman, two juniors and one senior in their starting lineup … Lewis made a block at the end of the third quarter to keep the score tied at 22.[[In-content Ad]]