John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
DODSONVILLE — Even when its offense stalled, Lynchburg-Clay’s defense never quit on Monday night, allowing the Mustangs to extend their season,
After trailing throughout most of the first half, the Mustangs were able to turn defense into easy offense before holding off a fierce Paint Valley rally late.
The result was a 34-28 win over the Bearcats in a Division VI District Quarterfinal.
“I feel like we’ve been complimented on our defense multiple times throughout the season,” LC sophomore Lily Ferguson said after the win. “And our 2-3 defense seems to work best. It all evened out with not scoring as much.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
Even with that impactful defense, it took the Mustangs a while to get going.
With Paint Valley playing without freshman point guard Emily Burke, the Bearcats needed to get some outside shooting early to extend the Mustangs’ vaunted zone. That was provided on the first two possessions from senior Delainey Mannion, who buried a pair of triples to give PV an early 6-1 advantage.
Lynchburg-Clay’s Savannah Bell scored on a drive to the basket midway through the first quarter to provide LC’s only field goal of the frame, but they were handed a gift by the Bearcats as they shot only 2-of-10 from the free throw line to lead 8-3 after the opening eight minutes.
Once the Mustangs began to feel their way through their offense, they began to get some higher percentage looks at the rim. Bell and Madison McMullen each scored inside before Ferguson picked up a steal and hit Bell for another layup to grab a short-lived 9-8 lead.
“Savannah’s a big part of our team,” McMullen said of her junior classmate. “She always brings the energy in everything she does.”
Paint Valley’s Karris Dye answered with a layup before grabbing a steal of her own and feeding Mayah Collier for a score with 4:04 to play in the half.
Ferguson and Dye traded scores over the next three possessions, and Nevi Conley canned a pair from the stripe with 2:09 to play in the half to give the Bearcats a 16-13 lead. McMullen then added a late basket to cut the deficit to 16-15 at the break.
In the opening half, Paint Valley shot just 5-of-21 from the field, missing a variety of shots from inside the paint that were earned from second chance opportunities. For Lynchburg-Clay (9-13) to win the game, they had to eliminate those second looks.
“That was one of our main things … We knew that we had to rebound the ball and not let them get second chances,” McMullen said.
“Every team this season has been bigger than us, so boxing out has been an important key to not giving up second chances throughout the year,” Ferguson added.
Whitney Utz scored on a putback for the Bearcats (10-13) on their opening possession of the third quarter. However, that would be their last second chance basket of the night, with Lynchburg-Clay beginning to force more turnovers and take away any looks at the rim.
McMullen began a 7-0 run for the Mustangs with their only triple of the game before Ferguson scored on a runout to grab a lead that the Mustangs never relinquished. After a pair of free throws from Ferguson with 5:34 to play in the third, PV’s Conley scored on a drive to cut the deficit to 22-20, which would be the last time the Bearcats came that close again.
Bell and Ferguson combined for the last four points of the quarter for the Mustangs, while their defense kept the Bearcats from scoring another basket for the remainder of the quarter, giving the Mustangs a 26-22 advantage after three.
Lynchburg-Clay added to its lead with a pair of short jumpers from McMullen wrapped around a score from Utz for a 30-24 lead. After a free throw from Ferguson, Paint Valley’s Izzy Garnes scored on a drive, before Joslyn Rockey split a pair at the line for LC. Dye then added a basket with 1:24 to play to make it a 32-28 game.
Paint Valley would not get another shot off, despite multiple possessions late.
As the Mustangs would up the defensive pressure, they forced three late turnovers, denying the Bearcats a chance to cut into the lead. Ava McLaughlin and Adilynn Carraher each added a free throw, helping the Mustangs march on to next week’s district semifinal round.
Dye led the Bearcats with 8 points, while Mannion and Utz each added 6 each. Conley and Utz each pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds. Paint Valley closes its season with 10 wins, after combining for only six over the past two seasons.
Ferguson scored a game-high 12 points for Lynchburg-Clay, while McMullen scored 11 and Bell added 9. Carraher collected a team-high 8 rebounds.
The Mustangs march on to meet with Federal Hocking in a Division VI district semifinal at 6:15 p.m., Monday at Southeastern High School.
The Lancers are the district’s top seed and will enter the matchup at 13-8 overall.
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