By Mark Carpenter-
You know what you are going to get when the varsity girls basketball teams from Eastern Brown and North Adams come together. Two of the most respected coaches in southeast Ohio battling it out in a game that nine times out of 10 is going to be a grind it out, possession by possession defensive struggle. The two perennial powerhouses of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference met for the first time this season on Thursday, Dec. 13 in Seaman and the script stayed pretty much on course. A low-scoring contest was a three-point game at the half and the experience of the Lady Warriors won out over the youthfulness of the Lady Devils as the visitors pulled away in the second half and made the early SHAC statement, grabbing an important 46-34 road victory.
“It’s just been our way all year, even in the games we won, we’ve struggled in the second half to score,” said North Adams head coach Rob Davis. “We got a lot of good looks but just couldn’t buy a basket. I was pleased with our effort but there are so many little things we just need to work on and improve.”
‘Our execution wasn’t good all night and we couldn’t get anything going offensively, but Eastern is a very good defensive team. I was proud of the girls that we got down early and came back.”
It looked like that Eastern Brown experience was going to take control of the game in the opening quarter. After North Adams got a bucket on their first possession from DeLaney Harper, the Lady Warriors ran off the next 10, scoring on four consecutive offensive trips, but the feisty Lady Devils bounced off the mat. A three-pointer from deep in the corner by Karissa Buttelwerth began the comeback which culminated with a 7-0 run to end the first stanza, baskets by Harper and Buttelwerth plus a Mary Sonner trey from the top of the key, all adding up to a 16-16 deadlock after eight minutes.
A three-point play by Morgan Reynolds gave the Lady Warriors a 19-17 lead at the 6:02 mark of what turned out to be a low-scoring second period and a later basket by Alexa Pennington kept Eastern Brown up by three, but a second three-point goal by Buttelwerth tied the game at 21 late in the first half. The Lady Warriors have the habit of making big plays at crucial times and they did it as the first half closed when Reagan Leonard fired in a three from the wing to send her team to the intermission nursing a slim 24-21 advantage.
Much as it had in an earlier loss to Lynchburg, the third quarter spelled doom for the North Adams, as they only managed four points in the entire period, two baskets by DeLaney Harper spaced three minutes apart, and the first coming halfway through the period. In the meantime, the Lady Warriors weren’t exactly lighting it up, but they were doing enough to continue to add to their margin. The quarter began and ended with buckets by Reynolds and in between, Eastern got free throws from Pennington and a three-pointer from Andrea Edmisten on their way to moving their lead up to double digits at 35-25 as the fourth stanza began.
Things just got worse for the home team as the final eight minutes progressed, with the Lady Warriors starting the fourth with an 8-3 run that pushed the lead out to 43-28, being patient offense and running clock in a disciplined fashion, a trademark of a Kevin Pickerill-coached club. The Lady Devils never really challenged as the clock wound down, getting a Grace McDowell jumper and a pair of Wylie Shipley free throws, but as the final buzzer sounded, it was the Lady Warriors claiming the early season conference win, downing their hosts by the final count of 46-34.
The box score usually shows a balanced scoring attack when it involves the Lady Warriors, and on Thursday night they were led by 15 points from Morgan Reynolds, joined in double figures by notorious North Adams killer Allison Malott who added 12. Alex Pennington chipped in 12 with Reagan Leonard scoring 6 for the winners.
For North Adams, Karissa Buttelwerth led the way with 11 points, followed by DeLaney Harper with 8 and Mary Sonner and Grace McDowell with 5 apiece.
The Lady Devils (2-2, 1-2 SHAC) looked to get back to their winning ways on Monday, Dec. 17 when they traveled to Whiteoak for conference action and then were back at home on Tuesday night to battle Southeastern in non-conference play. (Those results were not available at press time).
Eastern Brown
16 8 11 11 –46
North Adams
16 5 4 9 –34
E. Brown (46): Pickerill 1 0-0 2, Leonard 2 1-2 6, Reynolds 7 1-1 15, Edmisten 1 0-0 3, Malott 6 0-0 12, Pennington 3 2-4 8, Team 20 4-7 46.
N. Adams (34): Sonner 2 0-0 5, Shipley 0 3-6 3, Buttelwerth 4 0-0 11, Call 1 0-0 2, McDowell 2 1-2 5, Harper 4 0-0 8, Team 13 4-8 34.
Three-Point Goals:
E. Brown (2)- Leonard 1, Edmisten 1
N. Adams (4)- Sonner 1, Buttelwerth 3
