The Washington Lady Blue Lions were back on the court Tuesday night, hosting the Lady Mustangs of Westfall High School for a non-conference contest.
After a close first half, Washington was able to pull away in the second half to post a 53-37 victory.
Washington senior Shawna Conger was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points. She hit three of Washington’s four three-point field goals and went 6 of 6 from the free throw line. Conger also had five rebounds.
Sophomore Jeleeya Tyree-Smith reached double figures for Washington with 10 points, including one three-point basket. She turned in a double-double, leading her team with 11 rebounds.
Westfall senior Marcy Dudgeon entered the game with 982 career points.
She reached the 1,000-point mark with 5:07 to play in the game.
The game was stopped for a couple of moments to allow her to be recognized. She quickly went into the stands to receive congratulations from her family as Westfall fans and Lady Lions fans alike, gave her a nice round of applause.
“I thought we responded very well in the second half,” Washington head coach Samantha Leach said. “To start the third quarter, we definitely came out with different energy and we were able to make a run. Offensively, we were being a lot more aggressive.
“We ended the night with 20 offensive rebounds, which is just huge,” Leach said. “We did a great job crashing the boards. Unfortunately, we didn’t do a great job of boxing out, so, we gave up way too many offensive rebounds. The girls did a great job of running the floor in the second half. We were able to score a lot more in transition.”
“It was a great accomplishment for Marcy,” Westfall head coach Zane Miller said. “She’s a four-year letter-winner for us. She’s worked tremendously hard her entire career and it showed tonight. Her teammates were pulling for her to get it tonight. I am very happy that she got it tonight. It’s a big moment, one she’s never going to forget.
“I thought we played a really good first half against a very quality opponent,” Miller said. “Number 24 (Conger) is a heck of a player for them. She’s hard to stop. She really had it going tonight.
“In the second half, they pulled away from us,” Miller said. “They had a great third quarter. I thought we did a good job in the fourth quarter trying to make a little run to come back, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough tonight.
“I thought Gabby Patete stepped up tonight,” Miller said. “She is not our (regular) point guard. For her to be able to handle the ball and score for us was big.”
Washington hit the first two buckets of the game for a 4-0 lead.
The Lady Lions led 8-4 with 3:09 to play in the first quarter.
From that point, Westfall outscored Washington 9-2 to take a 13-10 lead at the end of one.
Westfall held a 15-11 lead with 6:25 to play in the first half.
A pair of threes from Conger gave Washington a 17-15 lead.
The game was tied at 17-all, then 19-all and, at the half, it was 21-21.
The Lady Lions embarked on a 14-1 run to start the second half.
By the end of the third quarter, Washington was in front, 37-27.
Westfall cut the lead to eight points, but Washington was soon up by double digits and led on four occasions by as many as 16 points, which was the final margin of victory.
For Washington, senior Halli Wall scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Freshmen Kendall Dye and Megan Sever each added five rebounds for the Lady Lions.
Westfall (8-12) returns to the court Thursday at Piketon. Westfall will recognize their seniors Friday when they host a make-up game against Huntington.
Washington (10-10) is back in action Saturday hosting Miami Trace at 7:30 p.m.
There will be three games at Washington High School Saturday, starting the j-v boys game between Miami Trace and Washington at 4:30 p.m.
At 6 p.m., it’ll be the varsity boys game between the Panthers and Blue Lions and finally, the varsity girls contest between the two Fayette County rivals.
Washington will play at Logan in a make-up game Wednesday, Feb. 12.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
WCH 10 11 16 16 — 53
W 13 8 6 10 — 37
WASHINGTON — Allie Mongold 1-0-2; Aaralyne Estep 1-0-2; Kaelin Pfeifer 0-0-0; Kendall Dye 2-0-4; Jeleeya Tyree-Smith 1 (1)-5-10; Abby Tackage 1-0-2; Natalie Woods 0-0-0; Halli Wall 2-2-6; Shawna Conger 5 (3)-6-25. Megan Sever 1-0-2. TOTALS — 14 (4)-13-53. Free throw shooting: 13 of 16 for 81 percent. Three-point field goals: Conger, 3; Tyree-Smith. Field goal shooting: 18 of 59 for 31 percent. Turnovers: 11.
WESTFALL — Kendra Lindsey 0-1-1; Marissa Mullins 1-2-4; Kylee Henry 0-1-1; Maddie Kitchen 1-0-2; Carmen Walters 0-0-0; Marcy Dudgeon 7-4-18; Gabby Patete 5-1-11. TOTALS — 14-9-37. Free throw shooting: 9 of 20 for 45 percent. Three-point field goals: none. Field goal shooting: 14 of 42 for 33 percent. Turnovers: 14.
