By Mark Carpenter
It took a little over two quarters to get the gears driving, but it was better late than never for Coach Rob Davis and his North Adams Lady Devils. On Wednesday, Feb. 17, the Lady Devils hosted a Division III sectional championship game, with a familiar foe on the other side of the court, a young and aggressive Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs squad.
The Lady Mustangs gave the home team all they could handle, holding a lead in the first half, but a huge 16-0 third quarter run by the Lady Devils turned the tide and propelled Coach Davis and his squad to the school’s 17th girls sectional title, as they handed Lynchburg a 66-47 defeat.
“I don’t like playing any team three times, especially after you’ve beaten them twice,” said Coach Davis in his postgame radio spot. “They played us tough up there and they’ve so long an athletic. I thought we did a great job in the second half, but we had confidence and we play with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder.”
The two teams swapped buckets for the first four minutes of the game, until the Lady Devils turned the switch on and went on a 9-0 run in less than a minute’s time starting with a Braylie Jones three-pointer and ending with two baskets by Karissa Buttelwerth that gave her team a 12-4 advantage. But as they tend to do, the Lady Devils then got sloppy and let off the gas, going scoreless for the final four minutes of the first period as the Lady Mustangs pulled to within 12-8 at quarter’s end.
The struggles for the home team continued early in the second stanza as they got a jumper from Wylie Shipley on their first possession and then drew an offensive blank for nearly five minutes as the Mustangs reeled off eight straight to claim their fist lead at 16-14. A basket by Marah Call at the 2:55 mark ended the North Adams drought and later baskets by Shipley and Braylie Jones put the home side back in front at 20-18. A basket by Lynchburg’s Serene Walker tied the game. Back to back scored by Sierra Kendall and Keetyn Hupp sent the Lady Devils into the intermission with a precarious 24-21 lead.
Obviously unhappy with his team’s first half performance, whatever halftime instructions Coach Davis gave to his team were words that the girls took to heart. The third quarter was a whole different story and turned out to be decisive in the outcome of the game. After a three-pointer by Lynchburg’s Addison West gave the Lady Mustangs a 33-32 lead, the Lady Devils decided to turn that switch back on. Over the next three minutes, North Adams went on a 16-0 run, fueled by the first eight points of that surge coming from the hands of Karissa Buttelwerth. That was followed by another Braylie Jones three-ball and after a Kendall put back and a Faith Howell free throw, the home team had taken control with a 48-35 advantage after three quarters.
“We can go on those runs,” said Coach Davis. “But we have a tendency after those to slack up and make some silly turnovers. We started attacking their zone and creating some offense and getting some easy baskets.”
The Lady Mustangs bounced back with the first three points of the fourth period, but never got the deficit back under double digits. This time the Lady Devils were able to put the hammer down and pull away over the final eight minutes, getting a Hupp three-pointer and a bucket inside from DeLaney Harper as part of a 9-0 run that stretched the lead to 62-43.
The Lady Mustangs got a late three-point basket by West but by that time the Lady Devils and their faithful were ready to cut down some nets, be it on their home floor, as the 19-point victory sent North Adams on to the Division III district semi-finals.
The sectional champion Lady Devils were led by 16 points from DeLaney Harper, 14 of those coming in the second half when she became a focal point of the team’s offense. Three other North Adams girls hit double figures, Karissa Buttelwerth with 12, Keetyn Hupp with 11, and Braylie Jones with 10. Wylie Shipley added 8 as the Lady Devils improved to 17-4 overall on the season.
“DeLaney had some foul trouble in the first half, but she took over in the second.” added Coach Davis. “I knew if we played high low they couldn’t stop her underneath. Sierra Kendall really played well for us too, I’m really not afraid to put anyone in there at any time.”
Lynchburg was led by 15 points from Jade Massey, with Addison West, Sierra Benney, and Serene Walker chipping in 9 apiece.
Next up for the Lady Devils is another unique evening, a district semi-final game on their home floor on Wednesday, Feb. 24. North Adams will host Adena with a trip to the district championship game on the line. Tip off in Seaman is set for 7 p.m.
“I saw Adena play Eastern Brown earlier in the year but I think they had a couple of players out,” said Davis. “They’ve got a good record and it’s going to be a test for us.”
Lynchburg
8 13 14 12 —47
North Adams
12 12 24 18 —66
Lynchburg (47): Price 1 0-0 2, West 3 2-4 9, Etienne 0 1-2 1, Massey 5 4-11 15, Benney 3 2-4 9, Walker 4 1-2 9, Berry 1 0-0 2, 17 10-23 47.
N. Adams (66): Hupp 5 0-0 11, Kendall 2 2-3 6, Shipley 4 0-2 8, Buttelwerth 4 3-3 12, B. Jones 4 0-0 10, Call 1 0-0 2, K. Jones 0 0-1 0, Harper 7 2-2 16, Team 27 8-13 66.
Three-Point Goals:
Lynchburg (3)- West 1, Massey 1, Benney 1
N. Adams (4)- B. Jones 2, Hupp 1, Buttelwerth 1
