Circleville edges Lady Lions, 47-46

0

CIRCLEVILLE — The Washington Lady Blue Lions traveled to Circleville for a non-conference game against the Lady Tigers Thursday night.

Circleville won the game, 47-46.

At one point, Washington held a 17-4 lead.

Once Circleville caught up with Washington, the game remained close the rest of the way.

Washington had just tied the game, 46-46 on a three-point basket from Halli Wall with 14.6 seconds remaining.

At the very last, Circleville’s leading scorer, Kenzie McConnell, took a shot from behind the three-point line.

A foul was called on the Lady Lions with five-tenths of a second remaining.

McConnell made 1 of 3 free throws to lift Circleville to the win.

“I give (credit) to Circleville,” Washington head coach Samantha Leach said. “They played a heck of a game. Their kids played hard and they were all over the place.

“I was really proud of my girls,” Leach said. “We’ve been getting off to slow starts the last two games. Those first four minutes make such an impact and set a tone for the rest of the game. That’s something we’ve been working on in practice and it carried over.

“Tonight, our first four minutes, everything was clicking,” Leach said. “We were attacking. We got a lot in transition. I was really proud of my girls for how they came out. But, basketball’s a game of runs and Circleville made theirs.

“I’m proud of my kids,” Leach said. “They hung in there.”

Washington rolled out to a 17-4 lead with 1:50 to play in the first quarter.

At that juncture, Circleville went on a 10-0 run that carried over into the second quarter.

Washington led 17-12 at the end of one.

Washington’s Maddy Jenkins broke the scoring string for Circleville with a free throw at the 6:41 mark of the second quarter.

Circleville tied the game, 20-20 with under two minutes to play until halftime.

Washington’s Shawna Conger hit a pair of free throws to keep the Lady Lions in front.

Washington held a 22-21 halftime lead.

The score was tied four times in the third quarter.

The Lady Tigers took a 36-33 lead into the fourth period.

Circleville held its biggest lead of the game, 38-34, early in the fourth.

Bre Taylor hit a couple of big baskets for Washington in fourth to keep the game tied.

Conger hit 1 of 2 free throws to give Washington a 41-40 lead.

Taylor hit another basket to give Washington what would turn out to be its last lead of the game, 43-42 with over 1:30 still to play.

Circleville’s Shayna Hoop, who did not score in the first half, scored 14 points in the second half, including a basket to give the Lady Tigers a 46-43 lead.

Wall hit a three to tie the game, only to have Circleville win the game with 1 of 3 free throws with .5 seconds left on the scoreboard clock.

“Court House’s quickness caused us some trouble in the first quarter, so we decided to switch to a triangle-and-two defense to focus on their three best players — Hannah Haithcock, Rayana Burns and Shawna Conger,” Circleville head coach Steve Kalinoski said. “The girls did a nice job of executing our defense over the last three quarters and that allowed us to get back into the game and have an opportunity to win.”

Rayana Burns and Hannah Haithcock shared team scoring honors for Washington, each with 12 points.

Halli Wall scored eight, Shawna Conger had seven and Bre Taylor scored six.

Kenzie McConnell led the game for Circleville with 22 points and Shayna Hoop had 14 second half points.

Washington (1-2 overall, 1-0 FAC) will play its next game Wednesday, Dec. 5 at Frontier Athletic Conference opponent Chillicothe. The j-v game tips off at 5:30 p.m.

Circleville (2-0 overall) opens Mid-State League play at Hamilton Township Saturday.

In other area results Thursday, Unioto defeated Huntington, 45-33, Southeastern got by Westfall, 43-39, River Valley defeated Jackson, 36-24, Waverly topped South Webster, 55-52, Lynchburg-Clay beat North Adams in overtime, 60-57 and Leesburg Fairfield smothered Whiteoak, 81-9.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

W 17 5 11 13 — 46

C 12 9 15 11 — 47

WASHINGTON — Rayana Burns 6-0-12; Bre Taylor 3-0-6; Abby Tackage 0-0-0; Halli Wall 2 (1)-0-8; Shawna Conger 2-3-7; Maddy Jenkins 0-1-1; Hannah Haithcock 5-2-12. TOTALS — 18 (1)-6-46. Free throw shooting: 6 of 9 for 67 percent. Three-point field goal: Wall. Field goal shooting: 19 of 51 for 37 percent. Turnovers: 6.

CIRCLEVILLE — Peyton Perini 0-0-0; Tori Bircher 0 (1)-2-5; Sidney Grey 0 (1)-0-3; Shayna Hoop 7-0-14; Brie Kendrick 0 (1)-0-3; Kenzie McConnell 9-4-22. TOTALS — 16 (3)-6-47. Free throw shooting: 6 of 11 for 55 percent. Three-point field goals: Bircher, Grey, Kendrick. Field goal shooting: 19 of 41 for 46 percent. Turnovers: 12.

Washington’s Rayana Burns drives to the basket during a non-conference game at Circleville High School Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Pictured for Circleville is Peyton Perini (3).
https://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2018/11/web1_Rayana-Burns-at-Circleville-11-29-2018-1.jpgWashington’s Rayana Burns drives to the basket during a non-conference game at Circleville High School Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Pictured for Circleville is Peyton Perini (3). Chris Hoppes | Record-Herald

By Chris Hoppes

[email protected]

No posts to display