Lady Tigers lose to Fayetteville; McClain's Pryor scores game-high 27 points
McClain junior Paisley Pryor is pictured battling two Fayetteville defenders. Pryor led all scorers with 27 points. (HCP Photos/Jim Jones)
The McClain girls varsity basketball team has fallen on hard times lately, losing their last three games, most recently Monday night 54-42 against Fayetteville in a non-conference makeup contest.
The Lady Tigers were short-handed from the start with starter Larah Henson sidelined and not available to play due to an ankle injury suffered earlier in the season. Henson is not only McClain’s second-leading scorer but also a solid defensive player and one of the team’s top rebounders.
Fayetteville was a very good, well-coached and scrappy team that improved to 20-2 overall on the season.
McClain was led in scoring by junior Paisley Pryor, who started the game slowly but finished strong, scoring a game-high 27 points that included making 8-of-10 charity tosses from the foul line.
Fayetteville started the game in a 1-3-1 full-court press and forced the Lady Tigers into numerous early turnovers that resulted into easy layups.
Fayetteville held a lopsided 17-4 advantage after one period of play, but the Lady Tigers came back in the second quarter and outscored Fayetteville 12-7 but still trailed 24-16 at the half.
Pryor led all scoring at the break with 12 points, while Lindi Carlier scored eight in the opening half for Fayetteville, including two from behind the arc.
Fayetteville opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run and doubled up McClain on the scoreboard 32-16 at the four-minute mark and led 40-23 heading into the fourth.
McClain showed a lot of heart and hustle in the final period and made the game interesting down the stretch by outscoring Fayetteville 19-14 but ran out of gas at the end, suffering their third straight tough defeat.
Pryor was amazing offensively for McClain, scoring the game-high 27 points, followed by Leah Lovett, who added eight. Other final scoring included McKenzie West, Allie Burgess and Brie Cummins with two points each, and Becca Bergstrom added one. The Lady Tigers converted 15-of-23 foul shots for the game.
Fayetteville had three players reach double-digits scoring led by Aubrey Barber, who had a team-high 15 points, followed by Carlier and Cara Rummel, who both tallied 11 points each. Fayetteville converted 13-of-20 foul shots in the ballgame.
The Lady Tigers (18-4) now turn their attention to the tournament and will host Waverly in the district quarterfinal Thursday, Feb. 19 with a 7 p.m. tipoff.
