The Miami Trace Lady Panthers welcomed the Lady Tigers of Circleville High School for a non-conference game in the Panther Pit Tuesday, Jan. 8.
It was a tough shooting night for Miami Trace and a very good shooting night for Circleville as the Lady Tigers posted a 47-36 victory.
Circleville (11-3) had a trio of players in double figures, led by their only senior, Shayna Hoop, with 14 points.
Sophomore Kenzie McConnell had 13 points and junior Tori Bircher scored 10.
Senior Cassidy Lovett led Miami Trace with 11 points.
Junior Shay McDonald was a primary target for Circleville’s defense and finished with nine points.
Circleville was 19 of 33 for an outstanding 58 percent from the field. They were even better from behind the three-point line, hitting 5 of 8 for 63 percent.
Miami Trace started the game 0 of 7 and finished by making 14 of 49 field goal attempts for 29 percent.
From beyond the arc, Miami Trace made just 2 of 18 for 11 percent.
Circleville took a 7-0 lead to start the game and led 11-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers’ best overall quarter was the second, in which they scored 17 points to six for Miami Trace, going into the locker room with a 28-13 lead.
Miami Trace was able to win the third quarter by one point and the fourth quarter by three, but it was not enough to overcome the 15-point halftime deficit.
Miami Trace did scrap and claw their way to within nine when McDonald hit a three-point bucket with three minutes remaining, but Circleville emerged with the 11-point victory.
“I thought we did a great job on McDonald tonight,” Circleville head coach Steve Kalinoski said. “That was our game-plan, to deny her the ball on every possession. She’s a very good scorer for them.
“I thought (Olivia) Wolffe had a nice game for them tonight,” Kalinoski said.
“We know the Trace kids are never going to give up,” Kalinoski said. “They are scrappy as all get out. They turned us over a few times and that led to some layups for them and got them back in the game.
“I was real pleased that we got up on them early,” Kalinoski said. “They weren’t scoring, so they couldn’t press us as much. Once they started scoring, their pressure effected us a little bit. We didn’t do a great job of taking care of the ball. We had too many turnovers tonight.”
Circleville had 24 turnovers to 10 for Miami Trace.
“They’re a well-coached team with a bunch of scrappy kids,” Kalinoski said. “We’re just glad to get out of here with a win tonight.”
“The kids played hard for 32 minutes,” Miami Trace head coach Ben Ackley said. “We just couldn’t make a shot early. I thought we had some quality looks, the ball just didn’t fall for us.
“They were shrinking the floor for Shaylee,” Ackley said. “They weren’t going to let her shoot it.
“Tonight was a character game,” Ackley said. “I thought our kids were fighting until the buzzer. They’re just a nice club. Every time we made a mistake tonight, they capitalized on it.”
Miami Trace (7-5 overall) is back in action Thursday night at Peebles. The Lady Panthers are back in the Panther Pit Saturday at 5:30 p.m. to take on Chillicothe in a return to Frontier Athletic Conference play.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MT 7 6 10 13 — 36
C 11 17 9 10 — 47
MIAMI TRACE — Olivia Wolffe 4-1-9; Cassidy Lovett 3 (1)-2-11; Becca Ratliff 1-0-2; Aubrey McCoy 0-0-0; Shay McDonald 2 (1)-2-9; Tori Evans 0-0-0; Magarah Bloom 2-1-5; Reagan Barton 0-0-0; Aubrey Wood 0-0-0; Gracee Stewart 0-0-0. TOTALS — 12 (2)-6-36. Free throw shooting: 6 of 13 for 46 percent. Three-point field goals: Lovett, McDonald. Field goal shooting: 14 of 49 for 29 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 2 of 18 for 11 percent. Rebounds: 20 (6 offensive). Turnovers: 10. Assists: 5. Steals: 18. Fouls: 9.
CIRCLEVILLE — Peyton Perini 1-0-2; Tori Bircher 2 (1)-3-10; Sidney Gray 0 (2)-0-6; Shayna Hoop 4 (2)-0-14; Brie Kendrick 1-0-2; Kenzie McConnell 6-1-13. TOTALS — 14 (5)-4-47. Free throw shooting: 4 of 7 for 57 percent. Three-point field goals: Hoop, 2; Gray, 2; Bircher. Field goal shooting: 19 of 33 for 58 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 5 of 8 for 63 percent. Turnovers: 24. Offensive rebounds: 5.
