John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WEST PORTSMOUTH — Despite trailing throughout the majority of Monday’s season-opener, Portsmouth West continued to trust each other to make the correct play all night long.
And it paid off in a big way.
With 18 seconds to play, freshman Maddie Lawless was able to catch a pass outside the 3-point arc with her feet set and let a triple fly that hit nothing but the bottom of the net, pushing the Senators in front.
Lawless’ clutch 3 was the catalyst of a come-from-behind 53-49 win over North Adams, allowing the Senators to start their season on the right foot.
“It was a really big play,” West senior Hailey Carver said. “At that moment, you don’t know who to pass it to. You just have to get it to that open player, trust everyone around you. Seeing Maddie hit that 3 was just amazing. It felt like we were in the game and we had it”
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
The Senators (1-0) trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half, before making key defensive adjustments at halftime to slowly chip away at the Green Devils’ lead.
After leading 4-2 early, North Adams’ Ava Pistole finished an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Green Devils (0-1) a lead that would last nearly 30 minutes of game time.
Jacee Davis then splashed a wing 3 to give North Adams a little room before the Devils slowly began to extend it throughout the half.
Emma Pistole added 10 points in the first half, while Elizabeth Raines connected with Sophia Barlow inside for a pair of baskets, putting the Green Devils ahead 24-18 at the break.
West struggled defensively in the first half as the Green Devils had masterful ball movement. Their backside cutting kept the Senators in shambles, leading to several open layups inside.
“In the first half, we were letting them get in transition, get up the floor and get buckets at the rim,” Carvers said. “[Coach Doran Martin] sat us down and said that we had to play defense, we had to jump switch, and work on our screens because it was really killing us. Coming back in that second half, [it was] just playing defense, bringing pressure, and making sure our post players were there on that jump switch.”
West was able to get 15 combined points from Brayleigh Pistole and Ally Buckner to stay within striking distance as the two connected to cut a 22-12 lead to 22-18 before a Barlow putback ended the scoring in the half.
Coming out of the break, Carver gave the Senators a spark with two driving layups and a trey to trim the deficit to 28-27.
But the Green Devils responded with an 8-0 run, highlighted by freshman Tenzlee Burns scoring six consecutive points. Burns used her vast skillset, scoring on the drive, getting a steal for a score and hitting a midrange pullup as North Adams pushed the lead back to nine.
Consecutive 3-pointers from West’s Macey Whisman late in the quarter provided a much-needed lift for the Senators, who seemingly grabbed the momentum to end the quarter, even with North Adams’ Jaida Harrison finishing off the scoring in the stanza.
Burns opened the fourth with another pullup jumper to push the lead back to seven. However, Brayleigh Pistole and the Senators weren’t finished yet.
The Senators upped their defensive intensity, forcing multiple turnovers to gain extra possessions. Following a putback score from Whisman, Brayleigh Pistole scored six of the next eight points of the game, including a steal and a score with 4:08 to play to tie the game for the first time since it was 4-4.
North Adams responded in the exact way you’d hope for if you were a Green Devil fan, as Burns found Emma Pistole inside for a layup before Burns hit a floater in the lane with 3:01 to play for a four-point advantage.
On the ensuing possession, Lawless began to make her presence known.
She caught an entry pass from Whisman before making a nice post move and layup to cut NA’s lead to two at the 2:32 mark. Following a defensive stop, Lawless returned the favor to Whisman, setting her up for a gorgeous post, tying the game with two minutes to play.
Burns knocked down a midrange pullup for the Green Devils as they continued to not allow the Senators to grab the lead. NA got a stop on the next possession, before Emma Pistole split a pair of free throws with 1:05 to play, setting up the heroics down the stretch for the Senators.
Whisman scored another inside bucket to cut the lead to one, before altering a shot on the defensive end, giving the Senators a chance to finally retake the lead.
After some outstanding ball movement, Buckner saw Lawless outside the arc with her feet set and provided a perfect pass to the freshman, who calmly sank the 21-foot jumper with 18 seconds to play, grabbing the lead for West.
North Adams opted not to call timeout and actually got a fairly good look from 3-point land for the win. But it went off the flange and into the waiting arms of Brayleigh Pistole before she was fouled with 2.4 seconds to play.
The sophomore drilled both shots to provide the winning margin for West, nailing down a victory.
Brayleigh Pistole led all scorers with 20 points while pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds as well. Whisman was the only other Senator in double figures as she accounted for 13 points — 12 of which came in the second half.
“Brayleigh is a big, key player to our game,” Carver said. “You know she’s going to score and get to the basket. It’s just trusting in her to do the right thing, getting the ball up to her. There are times she doesn’t get to the basket and she’s still making plays for everyone else.”
North Adams was led by Burns with 18 tallies, 16 of which came in the second half. Emma Pistole had a big game for the Green Devils as well, posting 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Senators are back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Piketon, while the Devils attempt to bounce back on Tuesday as well, heading to West Union.
“I think this win shows our potential,” Carver said. “We use our freshmen. Getting them into the game and showing them how crucial they are in those big moments, like Maddie making that 3.”
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