Facing one of the tougher road trips in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, the North Adams Lady Devils were up to the challenge when they traveled to Fayetteville High School on Thursday, Dec. 10. The Lady Devils led at every stop in picking up their fourth win in five outings in the 2015-16 campaign, their third win against one loss in SHAC play.

“This was a good win for us,” said North Adams head coach Rob Davis. “Fayetteville has been playing very well. We shot the ball well and did a much better job of sharing the basketball.”

North Adams hit 6 of their 13 first quarter field goal attempts, getting five points each from Grace McDowell and Madison Jenkins to lead 14-10 after eight minutes of play. Senior Staci Dinsmore got hot in the second quarter, tallying 8 points in the period, including an old-fashioned three-point play plus a three-pointer from beyond the arc. Toss in three baskets in the paint from Avery Harper and the Lady Devils took a double digit lead of 33-22 into the halftime break.

The North Adams offense hit full cylinder in the third quarter as they racked up 24 points, a number that included a quarter of three-point goals, two from Taylor Wylie, one from Lakyn Hupp, and one from Taylor Hesler. The big offensive output allowed the visiting Lady Devils to take a comfortable 57-34 advantage into the final period.

Even facing a big deficit, the Lady Rockets continued to battle, getting big fourth quarters from Samantha Murphy and Meghan Koch but the North Adams lead turned out to be insurmountable as the Lady Devils left the Brown County school with a hard-earned 66-51 triumph.

In the win, the Lady Devils placed three players in double figures, paced by 14 points from senior guard Staci Dinsmore. Close behind were Avery Harper with 13 and Grace McDowell with 11. Madison Jenkins scored 8 with Taylor Wylie and Maddie Toole adding 6 each.

Harper also led with a team-high 9 rebounds, with Dinsmore hauling in 6 boards and Toole dishing out 4 assists and getting 4 steals. The Lady Devils were also an impressive 10 for 12 from the free throw line in the game.

“Our post players did a really good job of posting up and our guards made the entry passes that allowed them to get good shots,” said Coach Davis.

Fayetteville was led by the Murphy sisters, senior Samantha and freshman Cecilia sharing scoring honors with 15 apiece. Meghan Koch also hit double figures with 1o points.

“We must continue to value the basketball and limit our turnovers, we had too many unforced turnovers tonight,” added Coach Davis. “Rebounding is getting better but we still need to improve. With our size, rebounding needs to be an advantage for us.”

“All in all, though, tonight was a nice win that everyone contributed to.”

The Lady Devils were back in action this week with three games, the first being on Monday, Dec. 14 as they hosted Fairfield in SHAC action. Conference play will continue on Thursday, Dec. 17 as North Adams travels to Whiteoak and then on Saturday, Dec. 19, the Lady Devils go out of conference with a trip to Southeastern

NAHS 14 19 24 9 —66

FHS 10 12 12 17 —51

NAHS (66): Dinsmore 5 3-3 14, Hesler 1 0-0 3, Wylie 2 0-0 6, Toole 3 0-0 6, Hupp 2 0-0 5, McDowell 3 4-4 11, Jenkins 3 2-4 8, Avery Harper 6 1-1 13, Team 25 10-12 66.

FHS (51): Boler 1 0-0 2, Cornett 0 1-2 1, C. Murphy 5 2-4 15, Moore 1 2-2 4, Wiederhold 2 0-0 4, S. Murphy 6 2-5 15, Koch 5 0-0 10, Team 20 7-13 51.

Three-Point Goals:

NAHS- Dinsmore 1, Hesler 1, Wylie 2, Hupp 1, McDowell 1

FHS- C. Murpshy 3, S. Murphy 1

Senior guard Staci Dinsmore led North Adams with 14 points in their 66-51 win over Fayetteville on Dec. 10.
https://www.peoplesdefender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Dinsmore1.jpgSenior guard Staci Dinsmore led North Adams with 14 points in their 66-51 win over Fayetteville on Dec. 10. Mark Carpenter | People’s Defender

By Mark Carpenter

mcarpenter@civitasmedia.com

Reach Mark Carpenter at 937-544-2391 or on Twitter @adamscosports.