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Mercer County defeats Lady Cards 57-52 SHANNON HUTCHINSON Sports Writer The Wayne County Lady Cardinals hosted Mercer County, last Friday night at Cardinal Gym, in a match up of two of the best teams in the 12th Region. The Lady Cards entered the contest on a four game winning streak and owned a region best 16-5 mark. Mercer County, the top ranked team in the region and ranked in the top 25 in various state polls, entered with a 12-7 overall record. Mercer County's Sabrina Manning scored all 14 of her points in the decisive second half, as the Lady Scotties used a 40-23 run to take a 57-52 win. Manning, a 5-10 senior forward, tallied 9 points in the fourth quarter as the visitors connected on 10 of 13 field goal attempts down the stretch. Senior guard Chrystal Claunch finished 5 of 19 from the field to tally 14 points, while classmate and backcourt mate Chelsea Goodman added 13 points. Mackenzie Carey netted 13 points, as four of six Lady Scotties that scored reached double figures. "Mercer County has a very good basketball team that has a lot of experience. Their experience really showed up late in clutch situations. They are the favorites in the region for a reason, so hopefully we'll build on the fact we led for three quarters. We just have to find a way to finish games off," said Lady Cardinals coach Tim Pyles. Wayne County, which dropped to 16-6, was paced by the freshman duo of Meg Latham and Heather Stearns. Latham shot 8 of 16 from the field and 4 of 10 from the free throw line to net a game high 20 points with 5 rebounds and 4 blocks in over 29 minutes of action. Stearns shot 4 of 14 from the field and 6 of 8 from the charity stripe to tally 15 points with 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Latoyia Green finished with 6 points and a game high 12 rebounds, as six different Lady Cards etched the scoring column. "We did a lot of good things in this game, but we still have some areas that need some work. Hopefully by now we know that we can compete with the best in the region. We just have to take care of the small things like free throw shooting and good results will follow," said Pyles. Mercer County tallied on 5 of 5 free throws in the third frame and the visitors used a 14-8 run to close the gap to 37-31 after three quarters. The Lady Cards made 3 of 12 shots in the period and shot just 28 percent in the second half. The Lady Scotties senior trio of Claunch, Goodman, and Manning accounted for all 26 of their teams points in the decisive final frame, as Mercer used a 26-15 run to take a 57-52 win. Wayne County was able to stay in the contest with 10 free throws in the closing minutes. "We had a change to fold our tents late, but our kids battled back to have a chance to win. I'm not sure we would've done that a couple of weeks ago, so I think we're maturing as a team," said Pyles. Kayla Jones finished with 5 points and Kara Gothrup added 4, while Courtney Duncan tallied 2 points, to round-out the Lady Cards in the scoring column. Mercer County shot 19 of 57 overall for 33 percent and tallied on 9 of 24 3-pointers for 37 percent. The winners made 10 of 14 free throws for 71 percent and totaled 5 assists against 11 turnovers. The Lady Cards owned a 32-28 rebound edge and shot 17 of 49 overall for 35 percent. The squad converted on 4 of 16 3-pointers for 25 percent and made 14 of 25 free throws for 56 percent. Wayne County totaled 7 assists with 5 steals against 12 turnovers. Up next for the Lady Cards is a very difficult three game week. The squad travels to Southwestern on Tuesday night and top 20 Corbin on Friday night. "The Southwestern game really doesn't have anything to do with district seedings, it's all about pride. After that we have a very tough challenge at Corbin," said Pyles. The squad then returns home on Saturday night to face Fern Creek on Fan Appreciation Night. "We have great fans that really support our program, so hopefully they'll come out on Saturday night as we say thanks," said Pyles. Add a comment |
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