It was an all-county JV girls basketball battle on Thursday, Jan. 14 at North Adams High School as the Lady Devils played host to Coach Tabitha Spires and her JV girls’ squad from Manchester. After a first half offensive struggle for both sides, the Lady Devils used their patented defensive pressure to pull away in the second half and claim the 42-18 win.
In the first quarter, North Adams got a three-pointer from Madee Shipley and two baskets by Charlee Louden but couldn’t pull away from the scrappy Lady Hounds, who stayed close with buckets from Josie Campbell and Jennifer Scott, as the first period ended with North Adams up 9-4.
The offensive troubles continued for both sides in quarter number two as all that Manchester could muster was a basket by Alyssa Hoskins, while the Lady Devils got two more scores from Louden and a Brooklyn Wylie free throw to lead just 14-6 at the intermission.
“Our execution wasn’t at the level that we expect in the first half,” said North Adams JV coach Tony Williams. “Give credit to Manchester, they were able to find open gaps and good rotation against our pressure.”
The third quarter was a different story for the home team, mostly due to the offensive exploits of Wylie, who fired in 10 third-quarter points as the Lady Devils outscored their guests 18-5 to open up a big 32-11 advantage. North Adams won the final period 10-7 to post the 42-18 triumph.
“We tightened up our defense in the second half and got contributions from several people,” said Coach Williams.
In the win, the Lady Devils (11-3) were led by Wylie, who totaled 13 points. She was joined in double figures by Louden with 10, with Shipley close behind with 9.
“Charlee Louden had a nice offensive game to go along with her usual defensive pressure,” said Coach Williams. “Madee Shipley hit a couple of nice outside shots for us. Hopefully that continued because we need her to be more aggressive on the offensive end. Brooklyn Wylie had another nice game as well and she really gave us a spark offensively in the third quarter, attacking the gaps in their zone.”
The Lady Hounds were led in scoring by 8 points from Jennifer Scott, including a pair of long three-point goals.
Both JV teams and their varsity counterparts will be back on the court on Thursday, Jan. 21 as Manchester will be on the road at Whiteoak and North Adams will play host to West Union. Both contests are Southern Hills Athletic Conference tilts.
MHS 4 2 5 7 —18
NAHS 9 5 18 10 —42
MHS (18); Campbell 1 0-0 2, Lainhart 2 0-0 4, Hoskins 1 0-0 2, Friend 1 0-0 2, Scott 3 0-0 8, Rust 0 0-2 0, Team 8 0-2 18.
NAHS (42): Wylie 4 4-5 13, Stacy 1 1-2 3, Louden 5 0-2 10, Stout 0 1-2 1, Shipley 3 1-1 9, Raines 1 2-2 4, Harper 1 0-0 2, Team 15 9-14 42.
Three-Point Goals:
MHS- Scott 2
NAHS- Wylie 1, Shipley 2
