Lady Tigers top county rival Lynchburg-Clay

     GREENFIELD – The McClain Lady Tigers won their second game in less than a 24-hour span Saturday afternoon as they used pressure defense, along with clutch shooting en route to defeating Highland County rival Lynchburg-Clay 48-32 at McClain High School.

     The game was a back-and-forth battle for the first three minutes in the first quarter, but after the 4:58 mark of the quarter the Lady Tigers never trailed in the non-league contest.

     “The key goes back to our primary purpose headed into the game which was not to let them hit the threes,” McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. “We also wanted to keep them from scoring early and we were very fortunate that we kept (Lindsey) Hawk away from the free throw line.”

     Lynchburg-Clay made three 3-pointers, all in the second half by junior Lillian Blankenship.

     The Lady Tigers were potent from the offensive side of the court as they had three players finish scoring in double figures. Senior Shelby Buck finished with two 3-pointers and was a perfect 3 of 3 from the free-throw line for a team-high 11 points.

     Senior Kate Hammond and sophomore Jenna Perie each scored 10 points for MHS. Perie played tough as she made three inside buckets and was 4 of 6 in free throw shooting. The sophomore had a team-high six rebounds.

     “Jenna (Perie) came off the bench and was a big lift to the team,” Overstake said. “Chrissy Cobb also stepped up and played well defensively. She had several steals and had a hand on several deflected passes.”

     Cobb finished with seven points and a team-high five steals.

     As for the game it was the Lady Tigers (5-1, 9-2) who scored first with a jumper from Hammond. After the Lady Tigers held L-C to a 10 second violation senior Cortney Hyer sank a free throw for a MHS three-point lead.

     Points from sophomore Brooke Hertlein and senior Cali Hatten put L-C in the lead at 4-3 with 5:13 left in the opening quarter.

     After senior Megan Saylor put the Lady Tigers in the lead at 5-4, Hammond sank two free throws and Buck nailed a 3-ball for a 10-4 McClain lead. Hammond fired a jumper with 3:08 left in the first for the final MHS points of the first.

     MHS gained a 26-15 advantage after two quarters.

     Before the 11-point lead was gained by the Lady Tigers, L-C junior Meredith Fittro converted two free throws to open up the second frame.

     Hammond answered by going around two defenders and taking the ball to the basket. The MHS lead doubled the points of L-C at 16-8 when Buck went 2 of 2 from the foul line with 6:35 remaining in the first half.

     Hatten brought L-C back within four of tying the Lady Tigers with four free throws to make the score 16-12.  Hatten led L-C with 10 points.

     Saylor and Perie ended the first half with a combined five points to put MHS ahead by 11. Saylor increased McClain’s lead to 15 at the 6:19 mark with inside points, making the score 30-15.

     With 2:20 left in the third Cobb scored with the assist from junior Frankie Wise. Lillian Blankenship sank a 3-pointer with 1:46 left in the third frame for the Lady Mustangs.

     Buck started off the fourth with a 3-ball, but the duo of Hannah Blankenship and Lillian Blankenship combined for five straight points for L-C to cut the MHS lead to 12 points.

     Cobb came back with a three-point play, followed with a jumper by Hammond to put MHS in the lead at 44-27.

     Lillian Blankenship sank her final 3-pointer with 3:19 left in the game.

     Kate Crabtree scored the final point for MHS with 42 seconds left in the contest.

     L-C shot 10 of 27 for 37 percent from the field. MHS shot 16 of 35 for 46 percent. Each team had 16 rebounds.

     “Offensively we were very patient,” Overstake said. “We didn’t just throw up shots, but took our time and got good looks.”

     The win improves MHS to 9-2 overall. The Lady Tigers are currently 5-1 in South Central Ohio League play.

     The next game for the Lady Tigers will be on Thursday, Jan. 21 as they travel to take on the Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons.

     L-C drops to 7-3 overall. L-C stands at 4-2 in Southern Hills League play.

BOX SCORE

SCORE BY QUARTERS

LCHS – 6 9 7 10 – 32

MHS – 12 14 10 12 – 48

INDIVIDUAL STATS
MHS (48)

Cobb 2 3-3 7, Saylor 3 6, Hyer 1 1-3 3, Hammond 4 2-2 10, Crabtree 0 1-2 1, Buck 1 (2) 3-3 11, Perie 3 4-6 10. TOTALS: 14 (2) 14-22 48.

LCHS (32)

H.Blankenship 1 2, L.Blankenship 0 (3) 9, Fittro 1 2-2 4, Lewis 0 1-2 1, Hatten 3 4-4 10, Hertlein 2 4, Hawk 0 2-2 2. TOTALS: 7 (3) 9-10 32.