Lady Tigers unable to hold second-half lead in loss to Washington
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The McClain Lady Tigers' path to the top of the South Central Ohio League standings got a whole lot rockier on Saturday night. Entering the game with two league losses, the Lady Tigers were unable to hold onto a double-digit third-quarter lead, falling to the Washington Lady Blue Lions 33-29 at McClain Gym.
The win by Washington and loss by the Lady Tigers puts each team in second place with three league losses, as both teams trail the league-leading Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons (8-0, 15-1) by three games in the standings.
MHS now stands at 5-3 in the SCOL and 9-5 overall, and the win lifts Washington overall to 14-3 and 7-3 in the league.
The Lady Tigers, from the 7:12 mark of the second quarter to the 5:29 mark of the third frame, went on a 19-2 run that left them with a 25-13 advantage.
It wasn't enough as the Lady Tigers shot 13-of-30 (33 percent) from the field for the game. Washington did fare as well as they were 9-of-29 (31 percent) from the field, but were 14-of-16 from the free-throw line. MHS was 3-of-9 from the free-throw line.
"We shot free throws really well," Washington head coach John Dennen said. "I call it championship basketball at the end of the game, and when you come to Greenfield, you are going to play championship basketball. Our kids played really well down the stretch."
Washington responded (to the 19-2 MHS run) with a 9-0 run to end the third quarter and a run totaling 17-2 from the 2:01 mark of the third frame until the 40-second mark of the fourth quarter, leading to a lead of 30-27.
The loss was the second straight loss for the Lady Tigers, coming off what was a six-game winning streak until this past week as MHS lost to Jackson and now Washington.
"Our opportunities to score in the third and fourth quarter, we didn't take advantage of," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said. "We didn't finish when we needed to, and we got into situations that weren't good for us. Washington played more physical in the second half.
"We panicked and never got out of that panic mode."
Leading all scorers was Washington's Molli Shaw with 10 points. Shaw was the only player in the game to score in double figures. Teammate Jessica Guyett scored nine points.
"There aren't too many times where a kid doesn't come out of the game, and if (Molli) came out of the game, it was just for a very short time," Dennen said. "My philosophy is to play seven or eight kids, but when we went with the younger group in the third quarter, I needed somebody out there with some leadership.
"Right then I thought the younger kids took over the game defensively, and Molli did a great job of taking control of the game. She carried us a little bit. That spurt of the game, with those five kids … I can't let that disappear, it was huge for us."
For MHS, Jenna Perie led with a team-high nine points, followed by Sammy Rooks with eight points. In their first meeting of the season at WCH, no MHS player scored in double figures.
"This is a game that hurts us league-wise and for the tournament draw," Overstake said. "We are down to five losses, and the way things were shaping up, we had our own destiny in our hands to play right into a very high tournament seed.
"Now we have to play three games next week to try to keep it at five losses, so we can remaining one of those top seeds."
Points were scarce in the opening quarter with Washington leading 9-6 after eight minutes ticked off the clock.
Guyett was first to score in the game at the 6:46 mark of the first frame, and less than 40 seconds late Perie tied the score at 2-2, the only time the score would be tied throughout the SCOL contest.
Shaw put WCH ahead with a 3-pointer, followed with points by Maggie McDonald giving the Lady Blue Lions a lead of 7-2.
MHS responded with points by Rooks, but Taylor Shears went behind the defense of MHS for two points in the paint, extending the lead of WCH back to five points with 1:35 left in the quarter. Kaitlyn Faulconer sank a jumper for the Lady Tigers at the 1:09 mark of the quarter to bring MHS back within three points of WCH.
The Lady Tigers outscored Washington 13-4 in the second frame, including holding WCH to one field goal in the quarter, coming with 1:53 left in the quarter off a jumper by McDonald, as Washington was unofficially 1-of-6 from the field in the quarter.
As for MHS, following opening free throws by Guyett, MHS went on a 10-0 run from the 7:12 mark until the 2:16 mark with points by Brittany Mullikin, Perie, Tara Karnes and Taylor Faulconer.
MHS took a halftime lead of 19-13 when Perie converted a three-point play with 10.7 seconds left in the first half.
The Lady Tigers continued their scoring in the third, in what turned into the aforementioned 19-2 run with Rooks, Kate Crabtree and Perie opening the quarter with points, giving MHS a lead of 25-13, leaving 5:29 left on the clock.
[[In-content Ad]]Washington felt the game was far from over, and their defense caused the Lady Tigers problems for the remainder of the game as Washington's press held the Lady Tigers to four points in the final 10:34 of the game.
The Lady Blue Lions ended the third with nine consecutive points as Shaw connected for the final seven points, including a three-point play with 51.1 left in the quarter. The run by Washington brought them within three points of tying the game at 25-22.
MHS was first to score in the fourth with a layup by Rooks at the 6:06 mark, putting the Lady Tigers ahead 27-22.
After those points, it was a rocky ending for the home team.
MHS continued to turn over the basketball, along with missing key free throws, as MHS was 0-of-5 in the fourth from the charity stripe.
And free throws were the difference as nine of 11 fourth-quarter points by the Lady Blue Lions came from the free-throw line.
Guyett brought WCH within two points of tying the game with three free throws out of four attempts in two trips to the free-throw line in a span of 28 seconds.
Following a miss from the free-throw line by MHS, Guyett made two more shots from the line, tying the game at 27 with 2:37 left in the game.
McClain tried to pass the ball, looking to set up a play for nearly a minute, but eventually were called for a travel with 1:47 left on the clock, as the score was still tied at 27.
At the 1:24 mark, Washington took a lead with a free throw by Shears and a three-point lead (30-27) off a jumper by Adrienne Perrill. Rooks brought MHS within one point of tying the score with a jumper by Rooks.
MHS had one final opportunity to tie the score with less than a second on the clock but missed two free throws to tie the score.
Two final free throws by Bath gave WCH the four-point win.
"This is not only a conference win on the road, but it's a sectional standing win also, and that was huge for us," Dennen said. "We've had an unbelievable stretch of games lately."
MHS will play again on Tuesday, Jan. 31 when they travel to face Zane Trace. JV will start at 5 p.m. followed by a 6:30 p.m. varsity start. On Wednesday (Feb. 1), MHS will travel to London for a SCOL matchup. On Saturday (Feb. 4), the Lady Tigers will travel to take on Madison-Plains.
Washington will play again on Feb. 2 at Shekinah Christian.
In JV play, Washington defeated MHS 38-20. Sarah Thompson and Tara Karnes each scored six points for MHS. Emma Anderson led WCH with eight points, followed by Breanna Wilt with seven.
GAME NOTES: MHS totaled 13 rebounds (zero offensive) … WCH had 10 rebounds (one offensive) … there were no blocked shots … MHS had seven steals … WCH totaled eight steals … MHS had 15 turnovers … WCH finished with nine turnovers … MHS had six assists … WCH totaled two assists … MHS committed 16 fouls (six in the first half), and WCH were charged with 14 fouls (five in the first half … in their first meeting this season, WCH won by a score of 39-32.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
WCH 09 04 09 11 — 33
MHS 06 13 06 04 — 29
INDIVIDUAL STATS
WCH (33)
E.Bath 1 (0) 2-2 4
A.Perrill 1 (0) 0-1 2
M.McDonald 2 (0) 1-2 5
T.Shears 1 (0) 1-2 3
J.Guyett 1 (0) 7-8 9
M.Shaw 2 (1) 3-3 10
TOTALS: 8 (1) 14-18 33
MHS (29)
S.Rooks 4 (0) 0-0 8
T.Faulconer 1 (0) 0-0 2
S.Massie 0 (0) 0-2 0
K.Crabtree 1 (0) 0-3 2
K.Faulconer 1 (0) 0-0 2
B.Mullikin 1 (0) 0-1 2
J.Perie 4 (0) 1-1 9
T.Karnes 1 (0) 2-2 4
TOTALS: 13 (0) 3-9 29
The win by Washington and loss by the Lady Tigers puts each team in second place with three league losses, as both teams trail the league-leading Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons (8-0, 15-1) by three games in the standings.
MHS now stands at 5-3 in the SCOL and 9-5 overall, and the win lifts Washington overall to 14-3 and 7-3 in the league.
The Lady Tigers, from the 7:12 mark of the second quarter to the 5:29 mark of the third frame, went on a 19-2 run that left them with a 25-13 advantage.
It wasn't enough as the Lady Tigers shot 13-of-30 (33 percent) from the field for the game. Washington did fare as well as they were 9-of-29 (31 percent) from the field, but were 14-of-16 from the free-throw line. MHS was 3-of-9 from the free-throw line.
"We shot free throws really well," Washington head coach John Dennen said. "I call it championship basketball at the end of the game, and when you come to Greenfield, you are going to play championship basketball. Our kids played really well down the stretch."
Washington responded (to the 19-2 MHS run) with a 9-0 run to end the third quarter and a run totaling 17-2 from the 2:01 mark of the third frame until the 40-second mark of the fourth quarter, leading to a lead of 30-27.
The loss was the second straight loss for the Lady Tigers, coming off what was a six-game winning streak until this past week as MHS lost to Jackson and now Washington.
"Our opportunities to score in the third and fourth quarter, we didn't take advantage of," MHS head coach Dennis Overstake said. "We didn't finish when we needed to, and we got into situations that weren't good for us. Washington played more physical in the second half.
"We panicked and never got out of that panic mode."
Leading all scorers was Washington's Molli Shaw with 10 points. Shaw was the only player in the game to score in double figures. Teammate Jessica Guyett scored nine points.
"There aren't too many times where a kid doesn't come out of the game, and if (Molli) came out of the game, it was just for a very short time," Dennen said. "My philosophy is to play seven or eight kids, but when we went with the younger group in the third quarter, I needed somebody out there with some leadership.
"Right then I thought the younger kids took over the game defensively, and Molli did a great job of taking control of the game. She carried us a little bit. That spurt of the game, with those five kids … I can't let that disappear, it was huge for us."
For MHS, Jenna Perie led with a team-high nine points, followed by Sammy Rooks with eight points. In their first meeting of the season at WCH, no MHS player scored in double figures.
"This is a game that hurts us league-wise and for the tournament draw," Overstake said. "We are down to five losses, and the way things were shaping up, we had our own destiny in our hands to play right into a very high tournament seed.
"Now we have to play three games next week to try to keep it at five losses, so we can remaining one of those top seeds."
Points were scarce in the opening quarter with Washington leading 9-6 after eight minutes ticked off the clock.
Guyett was first to score in the game at the 6:46 mark of the first frame, and less than 40 seconds late Perie tied the score at 2-2, the only time the score would be tied throughout the SCOL contest.
Shaw put WCH ahead with a 3-pointer, followed with points by Maggie McDonald giving the Lady Blue Lions a lead of 7-2.
MHS responded with points by Rooks, but Taylor Shears went behind the defense of MHS for two points in the paint, extending the lead of WCH back to five points with 1:35 left in the quarter. Kaitlyn Faulconer sank a jumper for the Lady Tigers at the 1:09 mark of the quarter to bring MHS back within three points of WCH.
The Lady Tigers outscored Washington 13-4 in the second frame, including holding WCH to one field goal in the quarter, coming with 1:53 left in the quarter off a jumper by McDonald, as Washington was unofficially 1-of-6 from the field in the quarter.
As for MHS, following opening free throws by Guyett, MHS went on a 10-0 run from the 7:12 mark until the 2:16 mark with points by Brittany Mullikin, Perie, Tara Karnes and Taylor Faulconer.
MHS took a halftime lead of 19-13 when Perie converted a three-point play with 10.7 seconds left in the first half.
The Lady Tigers continued their scoring in the third, in what turned into the aforementioned 19-2 run with Rooks, Kate Crabtree and Perie opening the quarter with points, giving MHS a lead of 25-13, leaving 5:29 left on the clock.
[[In-content Ad]]Washington felt the game was far from over, and their defense caused the Lady Tigers problems for the remainder of the game as Washington's press held the Lady Tigers to four points in the final 10:34 of the game.
The Lady Blue Lions ended the third with nine consecutive points as Shaw connected for the final seven points, including a three-point play with 51.1 left in the quarter. The run by Washington brought them within three points of tying the game at 25-22.
MHS was first to score in the fourth with a layup by Rooks at the 6:06 mark, putting the Lady Tigers ahead 27-22.
After those points, it was a rocky ending for the home team.
MHS continued to turn over the basketball, along with missing key free throws, as MHS was 0-of-5 in the fourth from the charity stripe.
And free throws were the difference as nine of 11 fourth-quarter points by the Lady Blue Lions came from the free-throw line.
Guyett brought WCH within two points of tying the game with three free throws out of four attempts in two trips to the free-throw line in a span of 28 seconds.
Following a miss from the free-throw line by MHS, Guyett made two more shots from the line, tying the game at 27 with 2:37 left in the game.
McClain tried to pass the ball, looking to set up a play for nearly a minute, but eventually were called for a travel with 1:47 left on the clock, as the score was still tied at 27.
At the 1:24 mark, Washington took a lead with a free throw by Shears and a three-point lead (30-27) off a jumper by Adrienne Perrill. Rooks brought MHS within one point of tying the score with a jumper by Rooks.
MHS had one final opportunity to tie the score with less than a second on the clock but missed two free throws to tie the score.
Two final free throws by Bath gave WCH the four-point win.
"This is not only a conference win on the road, but it's a sectional standing win also, and that was huge for us," Dennen said. "We've had an unbelievable stretch of games lately."
MHS will play again on Tuesday, Jan. 31 when they travel to face Zane Trace. JV will start at 5 p.m. followed by a 6:30 p.m. varsity start. On Wednesday (Feb. 1), MHS will travel to London for a SCOL matchup. On Saturday (Feb. 4), the Lady Tigers will travel to take on Madison-Plains.
Washington will play again on Feb. 2 at Shekinah Christian.
In JV play, Washington defeated MHS 38-20. Sarah Thompson and Tara Karnes each scored six points for MHS. Emma Anderson led WCH with eight points, followed by Breanna Wilt with seven.
GAME NOTES: MHS totaled 13 rebounds (zero offensive) … WCH had 10 rebounds (one offensive) … there were no blocked shots … MHS had seven steals … WCH totaled eight steals … MHS had 15 turnovers … WCH finished with nine turnovers … MHS had six assists … WCH totaled two assists … MHS committed 16 fouls (six in the first half), and WCH were charged with 14 fouls (five in the first half … in their first meeting this season, WCH won by a score of 39-32.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
WCH 09 04 09 11 — 33
MHS 06 13 06 04 — 29
INDIVIDUAL STATS
WCH (33)
E.Bath 1 (0) 2-2 4
A.Perrill 1 (0) 0-1 2
M.McDonald 2 (0) 1-2 5
T.Shears 1 (0) 1-2 3
J.Guyett 1 (0) 7-8 9
M.Shaw 2 (1) 3-3 10
TOTALS: 8 (1) 14-18 33
MHS (29)
S.Rooks 4 (0) 0-0 8
T.Faulconer 1 (0) 0-0 2
S.Massie 0 (0) 0-2 0
K.Crabtree 1 (0) 0-3 2
K.Faulconer 1 (0) 0-0 2
B.Mullikin 1 (0) 0-1 2
J.Perie 4 (0) 1-1 9
T.Karnes 1 (0) 2-2 4
TOTALS: 13 (0) 3-9 29