Physical battle sees North Adams top McClain at Eastern’s Winter Hoops Classic

MACON — Playing in the second part of the Eastern Winter Hoops Classic on Saturday afternoon, the McClain Lady Tigers faced the North Adams Lady Green Devils in a battle of two of the top teams in the area at Eastern High School. 

The game didn’t disappoint as both teams played physical basketball, and each team held multiple leads and made comebacks in the four quarters played, but when the final buzzer sounded, the North Adams squad defeated McClain by seven points at 47-40.  

“They gave the effort. We were short one player [starter Larah Henson]. I mean, that kind of does affect us a little bit, but she'll be back. She'll get better. Our shots were falling that first half. The last two or three minutes, I think we fell apart a little bit,” McClain head coach Shania Massie said. “I think we can get better over the weekend and Monday and come back better for the tournament.

“This game is going to prepare us. It's going to make us better going into the tournament. Like I've said multiple times, we don't really have an easy game, especially going into the tournament. Granted, this doesn't affect us ranking- or RPI-wise, but it's going to prepare us for the tournament that we know we're going to have to face that adversity, so hopefully it just prepares us.”

North Adams and McClain played a close game throughout all four quarters as MHS — who didn’t have starter Larah Henson available due to injury — trailed by only five points when the first frame ended at 11-6. Most of the first quarter was either a two-point differential on the scoreboard or a tied score until the final 2:10 of the frame. 

McClain (18-3) started with a basket by Paisley Pryor, as the junior was first to put points on the board with the assist from senior Leah Lovett. NAHS answered two baskets in a row from Emma Pistole, only to be answered by a jumper from Lovett for a 4-4 early tied score. 

Pistole led North Adams with 22 points, while Pryor led the Lady Tigers with 25 points. 

Pistole pushed North Adams ahead with a jumper of her own, and Lovett answered with her second basket of the quarter, as she ended the game with 11 points. The Lady Green Devils broke the 6-6 tie with a 5-0 run in the final two minutes of the first with consecutive baskets from Ava Pistole and a free throw by Tenzlee Burns. Ava Pistole finished the game with eight points, and Burns totaled seven points for the game. 

North Adams (17-4) led the second frame by as many as 10 points with 6:15 left on the clock, as they had a run of seven consecutive points, which was stopped by MHS having a 10-0 run from the 6:02 mark to the 3:19 mark as Lovett started it with a layup, and next was a layup by Pryor by going through and around the defense of North Adams in the paint.

Lovett scored two more points with two converted free throws, and then it was back-to-back jumpers by Pryor that left MHS tied with North Adams at 18-18 with 3:19 left in the quarter. 

North Adams answered with a basket from Emma Pistole, but a pass from Pryor to Lovett, who made a basket, tied the game at 20-20. North Adams regained the lead with a bucket by Emma Pistole, but the quarter and first half ended with a put-back basket by Pryor with .40 left on the clock, and then the junior 1,000-plus point scorer drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 25-22 McClain lead at halftime. 

NAHS won the third frame at 12-6 for a 34-31 lead headed into the fourth frame, with McClain having points from Lovett, Brie Cummins (who scored four points in the game) and Pryor. North Adams ended the third with four straight points from Emma Pistole for the three-point lead. 

The two teams each held the lead in the fourth early on as Pryor scored the first four points of the fourth quarter off baskets in the paint for a 35-34 lead with 6:13 left in regulation. North Adams answered with two buckets made by Emma Pistole and a put-back basket by Burns for a five-point lead at 40-35 with 5:03 on the clock. 

A jumper by Pryor brought MHS back to within two points of North Adams with 4:25 left in the game, but then the momentum began to shift toward North Adams as they kept MHS scoreless from the 3:24 mark to the final seconds. In that time frame, the Lady Green Devils scored seven consecutive points with baskets by Emma Pistole and Burns, plus a three-point play by Jaida Harrison. 

MHS made one last basket, a three-point play by Pryor, for the seven-point deficit and non-conference loss as NAHS outscored McClain, 13-9 in the fourth quarter. 

The win improves North Adams to 17-4 overall, while McClain now sits at 18-3 on the season. 

McClain is scheduled for a non-conference game Monday, Feb. 16 at home vs. the Fayetteville Lady Rockets (19-2). 

BOX SCORE
MHS    06 19 06 09 — 40
NAHS    11 11 12 13 — 47

NORTH ADAMS (47) — E.Pistole 11 (0) 0-0 22, J.Davis 0 (1) 0-0 3, S.Barlow 1 (0) 0-0 2, T.Burns 3 (0) 1-2 7, A.Pistole 4 (0) 0-0 8, J.Harrison 2 (0) 1-1 5. TOTALS: 21 (1) 2-3 47. 

MCCLAIN (40) — P.Pryor 9 (2) 1-1 25, B.Cummins 2 (0) 0-0 4, L.Lovett 4 (0) 3-4 11. TOTALS: 15 (2) 4-5 40. 

• • •

McClain wins on road at Whiteoak 

The McClain Lady Tigers faced a Highland County counterpart, the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats, in a non-conference game on Thursday, Feb. 12 at Whiteoak High School, where the Lady Tigers were the winners by a 43-33 score. 

The 10-point win saw McClain lead 18-8 after the first quarter, with Larah Henson scoring two points, Paisley Pryor with two points, Brie Cummins making two free throws for two points, and Leah Lovett having a 12-point first quarter with five two-point baskets and she was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. 

Whiteoak’s first frame saw their eight points scored by Jillian Lucas with four points off two baskets, and two points each off buckets by Ella Howard and Lilly Webster. 

McClain also took the second frame at 9-6 as Pryor scored two points, Cummins had two points (free throws) and Lovett scored four points with a basket and two free throws. 

Whiteoak’s six-point second frame had all six points scored by Howard off three two-point baskets. 

McClain led 27-14 at halftime. 

The Lady Tigers had the upper hand in the third frame at 8-7 as Allie Burgess sank a 3-pointer, Cummins and Pryor each scored two points, and Henson made a free throw. Whiteoak’s seven-point third included three points from Webster off a 3-pointer and four points from Howard as she made two baskets from the field. 

Whiteoak won the fourth frame at 12-8, as Howard had six points with a 4-of-4 performance from the free-throw line and a two-pointer. Webster also had four points in the final frame with two two-point baskets. 

McClain’s fourth frame saw Henson make a two-point basket, while Becca Bergstrom sank a 3-pointer and Cummins scored three points with a two-point bucket and a made free throw.

Lovett led McClain with 16 points, finishing the game with six two-point baskets and she was 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Cummins totaled nine points off two two-point field goals, and she went 5-of-8 in her free throw attempts. 

Pryor finished with six points as she made three two-point baskets, and with five points was Henson off two two-point baskets and she was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. 

Burgess totaled four points with a 3-pointer and she went 1-of-2 with her free throw shots. Bergstrom totaled three points in the win with a 3-pointer. The Lady Tigers’ team totals were 13 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers, and they were 11-of-17 from the free-throw line. 

Whiteoak was led by Howard with 20 points, making eight two-point baskets, and she was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Webster totaled nine points with three two-pointers and a 3-pointer. Lucas had four points for WHS with two two-point baskets. 

The Lady ’Cats’ totals were 13 two-point baskets, one 3-pointer, and they were 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. 

The loss put WHS at 8-12 overall, and the win at the time of the game moved McClain to 18-2 overall. 

BOX SCORE
MHS    18 09 08 08 — 43
WHS    08 06 07 12 — 33