McClain rebounds with victory over Lady 'Cats
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — From the opening tip of the 2012 Highland County Shootout, the McClain Lady Tigers were on a mission to win, and they didn't let up until the final buzzer as they won the opening game of the shootout over the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats 63-37 Thursday at Hillsboro High School.
McClain (3-7) rebounded from a loss the previous night with a big game from sophomore Shania Massie, who scored a game-high 26 points, as she made three 3-pointers and was 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Massie totaled 11 points in the first half, and in the third frame, she added 11 points, including two 3-pointers in the quarter. In the fourth frame, she was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Following Massie was Tara Karnes with 16 points, with 11 points in the first half.
At the conclusion of the opening frame, the Lady Tigers led 18-3, scoring the game's first 13 points as they led 13-0 with 3:08 left in the quarter with points by Katy Unger, Massie, Lauren Rayburn and Karnes.
"We were pleased with the way we came out and played," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "We need to play like that every game.
"We had five different players score in the first quarter, and that's what we like to see. We need to continue to distribute the ball around, but we need to finish like we did (Thursday)."
The streak was ended with a 3-pointer from Whiteoak's Sunnie Lehr, but that was quickly answered with a trey by Massie for a 16-3 advantage with 2:15 on the opening quarter clock. The quarter was ended with a put-back bucket from Sarah Thompson.
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MHS outscored WHS 19-5 in the second frame for a halftime lead of of 37-8. The loss drops WHS to 1-5 overall.
For MHS, scoring in the quarter were Massie, Caitlyn Lovett, Unger and Karnes, who totaled nine points in the frame.
MHS added 17 points in the third with points by Massie, Rayburn and Sydney Barton. Then in the fourth, MHS scored nine with points by from Massie and Karnes.
"We really wanted to win last night, but this is a good win for us to get," Overstake said. "A big difference in this game was Whiteoak didn't hang all over Shania like most teams do, so she was able to run our offense.
"Tara also had another big game for us, and she's been on a roll lately. She's been doing big things for us."
Rayburn totaled five points for the game, while Lovett and Thompson each scored two points. Unger totaled eight points and Barton scored four.
For WHS, they were led in scoring by Emma Wardlow with eight points (one 3-pointer), followed by Lehr, Emily Stratton and Brittany Luman with six points each.
Amber Gorman finished with four points and Courtney Cummings with three. Scoring two points each for WHS were Clarissa Johnson and Morgan Campbell.
"Whiteoak didn't give up and played hard," Overstake said. "We both have young teams, and we have room for improvement as the season continues."
WHS will play again on Dec. 27 at Northwest and Dec. 28 at Lynchburg-Clay in the Wilkin Scholarship Tournament. On Dec. 29, they will play in either the championship or consolation game of the tournament. The Lady Tigers will play again on Dec. 29 at home against Fairfield.
McClain (3-7) rebounded from a loss the previous night with a big game from sophomore Shania Massie, who scored a game-high 26 points, as she made three 3-pointers and was 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Massie totaled 11 points in the first half, and in the third frame, she added 11 points, including two 3-pointers in the quarter. In the fourth frame, she was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Following Massie was Tara Karnes with 16 points, with 11 points in the first half.
At the conclusion of the opening frame, the Lady Tigers led 18-3, scoring the game's first 13 points as they led 13-0 with 3:08 left in the quarter with points by Katy Unger, Massie, Lauren Rayburn and Karnes.
"We were pleased with the way we came out and played," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "We need to play like that every game.
"We had five different players score in the first quarter, and that's what we like to see. We need to continue to distribute the ball around, but we need to finish like we did (Thursday)."
The streak was ended with a 3-pointer from Whiteoak's Sunnie Lehr, but that was quickly answered with a trey by Massie for a 16-3 advantage with 2:15 on the opening quarter clock. The quarter was ended with a put-back bucket from Sarah Thompson.
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MHS outscored WHS 19-5 in the second frame for a halftime lead of of 37-8. The loss drops WHS to 1-5 overall.
For MHS, scoring in the quarter were Massie, Caitlyn Lovett, Unger and Karnes, who totaled nine points in the frame.
MHS added 17 points in the third with points by Massie, Rayburn and Sydney Barton. Then in the fourth, MHS scored nine with points by from Massie and Karnes.
"We really wanted to win last night, but this is a good win for us to get," Overstake said. "A big difference in this game was Whiteoak didn't hang all over Shania like most teams do, so she was able to run our offense.
"Tara also had another big game for us, and she's been on a roll lately. She's been doing big things for us."
Rayburn totaled five points for the game, while Lovett and Thompson each scored two points. Unger totaled eight points and Barton scored four.
For WHS, they were led in scoring by Emma Wardlow with eight points (one 3-pointer), followed by Lehr, Emily Stratton and Brittany Luman with six points each.
Amber Gorman finished with four points and Courtney Cummings with three. Scoring two points each for WHS were Clarissa Johnson and Morgan Campbell.
"Whiteoak didn't give up and played hard," Overstake said. "We both have young teams, and we have room for improvement as the season continues."
WHS will play again on Dec. 27 at Northwest and Dec. 28 at Lynchburg-Clay in the Wilkin Scholarship Tournament. On Dec. 29, they will play in either the championship or consolation game of the tournament. The Lady Tigers will play again on Dec. 29 at home against Fairfield.