Lady Mustangs use defense to earn win at Washington
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WASHINGTON C.H. — By far not their best offensive effort of the season, the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs used every ounce of defensive effort they had on Monday night to defeat the Washington Lady Blue Lions 31-26 at WSHS.
In the first half, it looked as if the win might not happen, as the Lynchburg-Clay (14-5) offense was close to nonexistent, scoring just nine points in 16 minutes of game time, due to a variety of obstacles, including the Lady Blue Lions' defensive pressure and turnovers.
Washington (14-4) didn't fare too well in the opening half either as LC held them to 17 points in the non-league affair, and until the final 1:32 of the first half, Washington had a lead of 10-9. Six of the final seven points by Washington in the second frame came from freshman Corrine Ryan. Ryan led the Lady Blue Lions with 10 points.
From the free-throw line, both teams also struggled as LC was 6-of-20 (31 percent) and WSHS was 10-of-23 (43 percent). In the first half alone, LC had, 13 turnovers, 13 missed rebounds and seven missed free throws.
For the game, LC shot 34 percent from the field at 11-of-27 (two-point shots). LC was 1-of-8 from beyond the arc.
"I don't even know where to start with that type of game," LC head coach Whitney Lewis said. "We had nine points at the half. When we went to the locker room we said, 'OK, we are going to erase the first half, act like it never happened … come out and start new.'"
Everything changed for the Lady Mustangs in the second half.
As Washington suffered injuries near the end of the second quarter, LC took full advantage of not only the injuries, but the Lady Blue Lions' inability to get open shots due to the smothering LC defensive pressure.
"When your two leading scorers are hurt … then you have to find offense against a good basketball team, that's tough," Washington head coach John Denen said. "I thought we hung our head a lot, and we can't afford to do that.
"We have the tournament coming up, and there is no telling what you can do in one game. We have to battle through all the adversity. We didn't do a very good job of that (Monday), but the kids will learn from this … they are smart kids."
In the third frame, LC outscored the host Lady Blue Lions 13-0, taking the lead for the first time with 2:31 left in the quarter at 18-17.
[[In-content Ad]]"We came out and played great defense in the third quarter," Lewis said. "Our defense was just tremendous. This was just a defensive game back and forth, but when we hold a team to no points in a quarter, it's hard for a team to get a win."
The Lady Mustangs began the third with a 3-pointer from senior Karen Hilt, and following a steal at mid-court by Hilt, she added a two-point fast-break layup, bringing the Lady Mustangs within three points of tying the score at 17-14.
"Our offense started to get under control a little bit … we got the ball inside, and made some layups," Lewis said. "Karen (Hilt) played great … she got us on a run there.
"Washington is a good team. They got a No. 2 seed in their tournament draw. This is a great win for us, before we start our own tournament."
LC junior Laney Lewis, who fought foul trouble all game long, scored a layup bucket at the 5:21 mark of the third.
Lynchburg-Clay had to hold their breath as senior leading scorer Brooke Hertlein left the game with an ankle injury, but luckily, she later returned to action. Hertlein led all scorers with a game-high 15 points with quarter scoring of four, three, four and four. The senior added 10 rebounds for a double-double, along with four blocked shots.
Following two missed free throws by the Lady Blue Lions, Hertlein, who returned from the scare, sank a turnaround jumper with 2:31 left in the game, putting LC ahead at the aforementioned 18-17 score.
Hilt scored her seventh point of the quarter as the senior caught a pass from Lewis with 2:03 left in the third. Following a series of turnovers and missed shots by both teams, LC ended the quarter with points by Hertlein with 29 seconds left on the clock.
From the 2:28 mark of the second until the 7:36 mark of the fourth, the Lady Blue Lions were held to zero points, as senior post player Jessica Guyett was injured during the second quarter, finishing with eight points. The scoreless streak was snapped at the start of the fourth when junior Adrienne Perrill made a two-point basket, cutting the LC lead to 22-19.
Lewis quickly answered the basket as she played a majority of the second half with four fouls. At the 5:40 mark Washington gained the two points back with a steal and basket by Molli Shaw, who was also playing with an injured ankle she tweaked in the Lady Blue Lions' previous game against Shekinah Christian.
From there on, the closest the Lady Blue Lions got to the lead of LC was three points.
As for the first quarter, LC was outscored 8-4 with all four LC points scored by Hertlein. In the second frame, LC had points from Lewis and Hertlein.
The victory sends LC to their 11th win in their past 12 games, along with it being their fifth straight win.
"The girls have been playing good, focused basketball," Lewis said. "We didn't do so well in the first half (Monday), but this run we've had, our focus has been there."
LC has one final game left on the regular-season schedule as they will host West Union in a SHL matchup on Thursday.
The Lady Mustangs were awarded a No. 4 seed in their Valley sectional tournament draw as they will face No. 13 seeded Northwest (3-15) on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at Valley High School, with a start time of 6:15 p.m.
"This game will do nothing but prepare us for the tournament," Lewis said. "Laney had to battle foul trouble all game, and she's pivotal for us to bring the ball down the court.
"Our defense will be key for us to be successful in the tournament."
GAME NOTES: LC totaled 14 fouls, three assists, 18 turnovers, five steals, 25 rebounds (five offensive) and four blocked shots.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LC 04 05 13 09 — 31
WCH 08 09 00 09 — 26
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LC (31)
M.Fittro 0 (0) 0-1 0
K.Hilt 2 (1) 1-3 8
M.Creighton 0 (0) 0-4 0
L.Lewis 3 (0) 2-8 8
B.Hertlein 6 (0) 3-4 15
TOTALS: 11 (1) 6-20 31
WCH (26)
C.Ryan 3 (0) 4-10 10
C.Chaffin 0 (0) 1-2 1
A.Penwell 1 (0) 3-4 5
P.McRoberts 0 (0) 0-2 0
J.Guyett 3 (0) 2-5 8
M.Shaw 1 (0) 0-0 2
TOTALS: 8 (0) 10-23 26
In the first half, it looked as if the win might not happen, as the Lynchburg-Clay (14-5) offense was close to nonexistent, scoring just nine points in 16 minutes of game time, due to a variety of obstacles, including the Lady Blue Lions' defensive pressure and turnovers.
Washington (14-4) didn't fare too well in the opening half either as LC held them to 17 points in the non-league affair, and until the final 1:32 of the first half, Washington had a lead of 10-9. Six of the final seven points by Washington in the second frame came from freshman Corrine Ryan. Ryan led the Lady Blue Lions with 10 points.
From the free-throw line, both teams also struggled as LC was 6-of-20 (31 percent) and WSHS was 10-of-23 (43 percent). In the first half alone, LC had, 13 turnovers, 13 missed rebounds and seven missed free throws.
For the game, LC shot 34 percent from the field at 11-of-27 (two-point shots). LC was 1-of-8 from beyond the arc.
"I don't even know where to start with that type of game," LC head coach Whitney Lewis said. "We had nine points at the half. When we went to the locker room we said, 'OK, we are going to erase the first half, act like it never happened … come out and start new.'"
Everything changed for the Lady Mustangs in the second half.
As Washington suffered injuries near the end of the second quarter, LC took full advantage of not only the injuries, but the Lady Blue Lions' inability to get open shots due to the smothering LC defensive pressure.
"When your two leading scorers are hurt … then you have to find offense against a good basketball team, that's tough," Washington head coach John Denen said. "I thought we hung our head a lot, and we can't afford to do that.
"We have the tournament coming up, and there is no telling what you can do in one game. We have to battle through all the adversity. We didn't do a very good job of that (Monday), but the kids will learn from this … they are smart kids."
In the third frame, LC outscored the host Lady Blue Lions 13-0, taking the lead for the first time with 2:31 left in the quarter at 18-17.
[[In-content Ad]]"We came out and played great defense in the third quarter," Lewis said. "Our defense was just tremendous. This was just a defensive game back and forth, but when we hold a team to no points in a quarter, it's hard for a team to get a win."
The Lady Mustangs began the third with a 3-pointer from senior Karen Hilt, and following a steal at mid-court by Hilt, she added a two-point fast-break layup, bringing the Lady Mustangs within three points of tying the score at 17-14.
"Our offense started to get under control a little bit … we got the ball inside, and made some layups," Lewis said. "Karen (Hilt) played great … she got us on a run there.
"Washington is a good team. They got a No. 2 seed in their tournament draw. This is a great win for us, before we start our own tournament."
LC junior Laney Lewis, who fought foul trouble all game long, scored a layup bucket at the 5:21 mark of the third.
Lynchburg-Clay had to hold their breath as senior leading scorer Brooke Hertlein left the game with an ankle injury, but luckily, she later returned to action. Hertlein led all scorers with a game-high 15 points with quarter scoring of four, three, four and four. The senior added 10 rebounds for a double-double, along with four blocked shots.
Following two missed free throws by the Lady Blue Lions, Hertlein, who returned from the scare, sank a turnaround jumper with 2:31 left in the game, putting LC ahead at the aforementioned 18-17 score.
Hilt scored her seventh point of the quarter as the senior caught a pass from Lewis with 2:03 left in the third. Following a series of turnovers and missed shots by both teams, LC ended the quarter with points by Hertlein with 29 seconds left on the clock.
From the 2:28 mark of the second until the 7:36 mark of the fourth, the Lady Blue Lions were held to zero points, as senior post player Jessica Guyett was injured during the second quarter, finishing with eight points. The scoreless streak was snapped at the start of the fourth when junior Adrienne Perrill made a two-point basket, cutting the LC lead to 22-19.
Lewis quickly answered the basket as she played a majority of the second half with four fouls. At the 5:40 mark Washington gained the two points back with a steal and basket by Molli Shaw, who was also playing with an injured ankle she tweaked in the Lady Blue Lions' previous game against Shekinah Christian.
From there on, the closest the Lady Blue Lions got to the lead of LC was three points.
As for the first quarter, LC was outscored 8-4 with all four LC points scored by Hertlein. In the second frame, LC had points from Lewis and Hertlein.
The victory sends LC to their 11th win in their past 12 games, along with it being their fifth straight win.
"The girls have been playing good, focused basketball," Lewis said. "We didn't do so well in the first half (Monday), but this run we've had, our focus has been there."
LC has one final game left on the regular-season schedule as they will host West Union in a SHL matchup on Thursday.
The Lady Mustangs were awarded a No. 4 seed in their Valley sectional tournament draw as they will face No. 13 seeded Northwest (3-15) on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at Valley High School, with a start time of 6:15 p.m.
"This game will do nothing but prepare us for the tournament," Lewis said. "Laney had to battle foul trouble all game, and she's pivotal for us to bring the ball down the court.
"Our defense will be key for us to be successful in the tournament."
GAME NOTES: LC totaled 14 fouls, three assists, 18 turnovers, five steals, 25 rebounds (five offensive) and four blocked shots.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LC 04 05 13 09 — 31
WCH 08 09 00 09 — 26
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LC (31)
M.Fittro 0 (0) 0-1 0
K.Hilt 2 (1) 1-3 8
M.Creighton 0 (0) 0-4 0
L.Lewis 3 (0) 2-8 8
B.Hertlein 6 (0) 3-4 15
TOTALS: 11 (1) 6-20 31
WCH (26)
C.Ryan 3 (0) 4-10 10
C.Chaffin 0 (0) 1-2 1
A.Penwell 1 (0) 3-4 5
P.McRoberts 0 (0) 0-2 0
J.Guyett 3 (0) 2-5 8
M.Shaw 1 (0) 0-0 2
TOTALS: 8 (0) 10-23 26