Lady Mustangs fall in fourth; bow out in district finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
ATHENS — The fourth quarter at the Convocation Center proved to be just too much for the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs, as they lost their lead, and their season ended. LC, who won 15 games this season, fell to the Minford Lady Falcons, 46-39 in the Division III SE District Semifinal, Saturday.
The fourth quarter was tough on LC, as they continued to play very physically, but their shots just wouldn't fall through the hoop, as they were outscored 17-2 in the frame.
This is the first district title for Minford since 1996.
"We had some girls sick. I'm not making excuses, I had a couple girls who have been sick, and I think we just ran out of gas," LC head coach Tiffany Barnett said. "We were trying to hold them on defense, but we couldn't transition that into offense.
"Our focus was to stop No. 23 (Kendra Justice), but we knew the other girls could play, but primarily it was trying to contain her. I think it was (because) we ran out of gas. We couldn't score."
Holding Justice was something LC did well in the first half, as she scored six points in the first half and nine in the first three quarters, all 3-pointers. Then in the fourth, she scored four points, finishing with 13 points for the game.
With LC focusing on Justice, senior Laiken Gambill put the game in her hands, connecting for a near-perfect day from the free-throw line, going 10-of-13, and wrapping up the game with a game-high 19 points.
For LC, their leading scorer was sophomore Laney Lewis with 10 points, all in the first half. Junior Brooke Hertlein and senior Lillian Blankenship each scored eight points. Rounding out the scoring for LC were seniors Hannah Blankenship with seven points and Meredith Fittro with six points.
Defensively for LC, Lewis had eight rebounds and four blocked shots, and Hertlein had nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
But the fourth frame was the turning point for LC.
Neither team did much offensively in the opening minutes of the fourth, as Minford senior Courtney Spriggs sank a layup with 5:18 remaining in the game.
Though LC continued to play very physically on the defensive side, Justice served up three straight points with a free throw, and over two minutes later, a jump shot to bring the Lady Falcons (20-3) within three points of tying the score, leaving 2:54 left on the clock.
LC didn't score in the fourth until the 2:09 mark when Hertlein sank two free throws, putting LC up five points.
Minford answered with a free throw from Kylie Berry.
Justice then took over with two free throws, and at the 1:11 mark, she knocked down a 3-pointer off a turnover by LC when MHS stole the inbounds pass with heavy pressure, giving the Lady Falcons the lead.
MHS didn't trail for the remainder of the game.
"I think it was one of those things we just didn't make baskets when we needed to, and they (Minford) did," Barnett said.
LC threw the ball out of bounds on the ensuing possession, then after MHS took a three-point lead, LC lost control again, throwing the ball to the Lady Falcons, turning into two points for MHS. The Lady Falcons scored the final 12 points.
As the final eight minutes didn't favor the Lady Mustangs (15-8), they did pressure the Lady Falcons with a 10-10 first quarter and trailed by just four points at halftime at 22-18. LC took the lead after the third at 37-29, scoring 19 points, while holding MHS to seven points.
The third was Lynchburg-Clay's break-out quarter, with Lillian Blankenship and Hannah Blankenship making back-to-back 3-pointers, tying the score at 24 with 6:31 left in the quarter.
After Justice sank a 3-ball, Hertlein and Lillian Blankenship followed with four points, putting LC in the lead.
Later in the frame, Fittro nailed a 3-pointer, putting LC up 31-29. With 2:17 left in the third, Hannah Blankenship made two free throws, followed by two more from Fittro and a layup by Lillian Blankenship to end the third-quarter scoring.
In the first half, Lewis dominated the first quarter with eight points, as Hertlein scored the other two for LC. In the second, LC scored eight points with 3-pointers from Hannah Blankenship and Lillian Blankenship. Lewis added two free throws. As for MHS, they scored 12 points in the second quarter with a 9-2 run to end the quarter.
The size advantage worked in favor of the Lady Mustangs for some of the game, shown by Lewis' dominant first quarter.
"It had an advantage, but I don't think we capitalized on it like we should have," Barnett said. "I feel like guard play needed to step up more than what it did, and we just didn't take advantage of it."
LC finishes as district runner-up with an overall record of 15-8. In the Southern Hills League this season, they finished 7-6.
"Like I said before, (our girls) could have given up at various points in time. We were 7-6 in our league. We played a tough schedule. We played with those teams and didn't feel we were that caliber of a team. Going into the tournament draw, I'll be honest, we were disappointed with our seed (LC was a No. 6 seed) to a degree, with the exception we just thought we should have been the three seed, instead we were a six," Barnett said. "We played from the same spot fine, would go in as the underdog. We would play from the same spot … we knew we were better than what everyone else thought we were."
Four LC seniors were on the court as the game ended, with Hannah Blankenship, Lillian Blankenship, Meredith Fittro and Lisa Rhonemus all playing their final game for the Lady Mustangs.
"They are going to be missed. They are great girls and are great people," Barnett said about her seniors. "They contribute, they work hard, and they wanted to get better. They were leaders. We are losing a lot, and we know that. You can't replace them, you just have to find a way to fill that spot. Personality-wise, they are great kids, and that is the biggest thing."
GAME NOTES: LC was outscored 24-22 in the final two quarters … LC last were district champions in 2003, and before this season, last were district runners-up in 2006 … LC is 10-14 all-time in district play … LC has won at least one tournament game for the past 14 years … This is the sixth time LC has been district runner-up ('11, '06, '04, '01, '91, '88) … All-time, LC is 47-34 in the sectional/district tournament … LC made five 3-pointers against Minford … LC had 14 turnovers.[[In-content Ad]]
The fourth quarter was tough on LC, as they continued to play very physically, but their shots just wouldn't fall through the hoop, as they were outscored 17-2 in the frame.
This is the first district title for Minford since 1996.
"We had some girls sick. I'm not making excuses, I had a couple girls who have been sick, and I think we just ran out of gas," LC head coach Tiffany Barnett said. "We were trying to hold them on defense, but we couldn't transition that into offense.
"Our focus was to stop No. 23 (Kendra Justice), but we knew the other girls could play, but primarily it was trying to contain her. I think it was (because) we ran out of gas. We couldn't score."
Holding Justice was something LC did well in the first half, as she scored six points in the first half and nine in the first three quarters, all 3-pointers. Then in the fourth, she scored four points, finishing with 13 points for the game.
With LC focusing on Justice, senior Laiken Gambill put the game in her hands, connecting for a near-perfect day from the free-throw line, going 10-of-13, and wrapping up the game with a game-high 19 points.
For LC, their leading scorer was sophomore Laney Lewis with 10 points, all in the first half. Junior Brooke Hertlein and senior Lillian Blankenship each scored eight points. Rounding out the scoring for LC were seniors Hannah Blankenship with seven points and Meredith Fittro with six points.
Defensively for LC, Lewis had eight rebounds and four blocked shots, and Hertlein had nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
But the fourth frame was the turning point for LC.
Neither team did much offensively in the opening minutes of the fourth, as Minford senior Courtney Spriggs sank a layup with 5:18 remaining in the game.
Though LC continued to play very physically on the defensive side, Justice served up three straight points with a free throw, and over two minutes later, a jump shot to bring the Lady Falcons (20-3) within three points of tying the score, leaving 2:54 left on the clock.
LC didn't score in the fourth until the 2:09 mark when Hertlein sank two free throws, putting LC up five points.
Minford answered with a free throw from Kylie Berry.
Justice then took over with two free throws, and at the 1:11 mark, she knocked down a 3-pointer off a turnover by LC when MHS stole the inbounds pass with heavy pressure, giving the Lady Falcons the lead.
MHS didn't trail for the remainder of the game.
"I think it was one of those things we just didn't make baskets when we needed to, and they (Minford) did," Barnett said.
LC threw the ball out of bounds on the ensuing possession, then after MHS took a three-point lead, LC lost control again, throwing the ball to the Lady Falcons, turning into two points for MHS. The Lady Falcons scored the final 12 points.
As the final eight minutes didn't favor the Lady Mustangs (15-8), they did pressure the Lady Falcons with a 10-10 first quarter and trailed by just four points at halftime at 22-18. LC took the lead after the third at 37-29, scoring 19 points, while holding MHS to seven points.
The third was Lynchburg-Clay's break-out quarter, with Lillian Blankenship and Hannah Blankenship making back-to-back 3-pointers, tying the score at 24 with 6:31 left in the quarter.
After Justice sank a 3-ball, Hertlein and Lillian Blankenship followed with four points, putting LC in the lead.
Later in the frame, Fittro nailed a 3-pointer, putting LC up 31-29. With 2:17 left in the third, Hannah Blankenship made two free throws, followed by two more from Fittro and a layup by Lillian Blankenship to end the third-quarter scoring.
In the first half, Lewis dominated the first quarter with eight points, as Hertlein scored the other two for LC. In the second, LC scored eight points with 3-pointers from Hannah Blankenship and Lillian Blankenship. Lewis added two free throws. As for MHS, they scored 12 points in the second quarter with a 9-2 run to end the quarter.
The size advantage worked in favor of the Lady Mustangs for some of the game, shown by Lewis' dominant first quarter.
"It had an advantage, but I don't think we capitalized on it like we should have," Barnett said. "I feel like guard play needed to step up more than what it did, and we just didn't take advantage of it."
LC finishes as district runner-up with an overall record of 15-8. In the Southern Hills League this season, they finished 7-6.
"Like I said before, (our girls) could have given up at various points in time. We were 7-6 in our league. We played a tough schedule. We played with those teams and didn't feel we were that caliber of a team. Going into the tournament draw, I'll be honest, we were disappointed with our seed (LC was a No. 6 seed) to a degree, with the exception we just thought we should have been the three seed, instead we were a six," Barnett said. "We played from the same spot fine, would go in as the underdog. We would play from the same spot … we knew we were better than what everyone else thought we were."
Four LC seniors were on the court as the game ended, with Hannah Blankenship, Lillian Blankenship, Meredith Fittro and Lisa Rhonemus all playing their final game for the Lady Mustangs.
"They are going to be missed. They are great girls and are great people," Barnett said about her seniors. "They contribute, they work hard, and they wanted to get better. They were leaders. We are losing a lot, and we know that. You can't replace them, you just have to find a way to fill that spot. Personality-wise, they are great kids, and that is the biggest thing."
GAME NOTES: LC was outscored 24-22 in the final two quarters … LC last were district champions in 2003, and before this season, last were district runners-up in 2006 … LC is 10-14 all-time in district play … LC has won at least one tournament game for the past 14 years … This is the sixth time LC has been district runner-up ('11, '06, '04, '01, '91, '88) … All-time, LC is 47-34 in the sectional/district tournament … LC made five 3-pointers against Minford … LC had 14 turnovers.[[In-content Ad]]