Lady Tigers defeat Whiteoak
GREENFIELD — The McClain Lady Tigers improved their overall record to 9-2 Monday night after defeating Highland County counterpart, Whiteoak 65-42 in a non-league battle at McClain Gym.
Junior Taylor Polley led the Lady Tigers with a game-high 21 points, followed by Malea Montavon and Makenzie Montavon, who scored 11 points each.
“I thought Taylor Polley played really well,” McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said. “She knocked down a lot of shots and was able to get everyone involved offensively.
“We made too many mistakes defensively tonight, and offensively we were forcing things, but I thought overall everybody played pretty well.”
The Lady Tigers led 14-7 after one quarter with Polley scoring six points in the frame.
In the second period, McClain extended their lead to 34-18 after outscoring the Lady Wildcats, 20-11. Polley led all scorers at the half with 12 points, followed by Lexie Barton, who added seven. Maggie Carr scored five points in the opening half to pace the visiting Lady ’Cats.
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Both teams played pretty even in the third quarter when the Lady Tigers outscored Whiteoak, 11-10, and still had a double-digit advantage at 45-28. MHS freshman Makenzie Montavon had a solid quarter for McClain both offensively and defensively and scored five points, while Whiteoak’s Emma Wardlow scored six points.
In the fourth period, both coaches were able to give a lot of younger players valuable playing time as McClain coasted to the 65-42 victory.
“We’re still working on discipline and learning how to play smarter,” Whiteoak head coach Randy Abbott said following the game. “We can come down the floor one time and do everything right, then the next time we will have a mental lapse and get in trouble.
“I still thought our girls played very hard, and they never quit. We just need to keep working hard, trying to get better.”
Whiteoak saw their record dip to 1-10 overall but still had two players reach double figures in scoring. Wardlow led the way with 11, and Carr chipped in with 10 points for the Lady Wildcats.
Rounding out the scoring for McClain were Beth Montgomery (7), Lexie Barton (8), Maddy Stegbauer (4) and Mikenzie Coleman (3).
Whiteoak also saw scoring from Lexi Jones (8), Michaela Luman (4), Ashleigh Harless (4), Jaycie Parr (3) and Morgan Thompson (2).
McClain made 12-of-18 free throws for 67-percent, while Whiteoak connected on 8-of-16 for 50-percent. Both teams were guilty of 19 turnovers in the contest.
The Lady Tigers return home Wednesday, Dec. 30 for another non-league game with Albany Alexander.