Always hustling, North Adams’ Tenzlee Burns. right, goes to the floor for a loose ball late in the fourth quarter of the Lady Devils’ 61-46 win over Minford. Burns led all scorers in the game with 24 points. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Davis ties Young for all-time coaching victories
Pistole to Pistole. Sisters combine for a score as Ava Pistole (13) at the high post finds sister Emma in the paint in action from the North Admas win over Minford on December 29. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
North Adams’ Jaida Harrison makes a no-look pass in action from the Lady Devils’ win over Minford, a game where Harrison dished out 7 assists. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
History continues to be made in yet another successful season to this point for Coach Rob Davis and his North Adams Lady Devils. Earlier in the season, Coach Davis reached the 400 mark in career victories and with the team’s 61-46 win over the Minford Lady Falcons on December 29, Davis moved into a tie with the late Dave Young for most career victories in Adams County basketball history. With 15 games left in the regular season, one would have to think that record will soon belong to Davis alone.
At press time, this year’s version of the Lady Devils stood at 6-1 and in the midst of a six-game winning streak, led by the dynamic duo of freshman point guard Tenzlee Burns and junior Emma Pistole, the team’s two leading scorers at 17.9 and 15.9 points per game respectively. In the win over Minford, the two combined for 44 of the squad’s 61 points.
“We were a little flat in the first half and I didn’t think the energy was there,” said Coach Davis in a postgame talk with GoodGuysRadioTV. “We fouled too much which happens when you’re lazy on defense, but I thought our bench gave us great minutes in the first half and kept it tight. This is a good test for us, a team we might see again in the tournament.”
It was Burns who came out locked and loaded as the Lady Devils hosted Minford in their Holiday Classic. The freshman sensation nailed a pair of early three-point goals to give her team a 6-1 advantage but would pick up her second foul at the 3:10 mark of the first quarter, forcing her to the bench for the remainder of the first half. When you are Coach Davis and you lose your point guard and leading scorer for over 11 minutes, your goal is for the rest of your team to just keep things close until you are back at full strength- and that is exactly what the Lady Devils did.
North Adams trailed 14-12 after the first quarter but quickly tied the score at 16 early in the second on a pair of free throws, on separate trips to the stripe, from junior Ava Pistole. The game stayed tight and back and forth as the second frame progressed, with the Lady Falcons grabbing a 24-19 lead on a free throw by Kerigan Davis. Baskets for North Adams from the Pistole twins left the home team trailing by just one at the halftime break.
If Coach Davis was happy with how his team hung tough in the first half, that happiness lasted six seconds into the second half. After a loose ball eluded his team on the first inbounds play of the third quarter, a very animated and unhappy Davis called for a timeout. Whatever message he conveyed in the break must have sunk in with his girls as the Lady Devils proceeded to go on a 15-2 run over the next six minutes to totally change the momentum of the game.
“We had a loose ball on the floor and we just let it roll and roll,” said Coach Davis. “I just didn’t get that after I had just talked at halftime about our lack of energy. But overall I was happy with the way we came back in the second half.”
The run began with baskets by Burns and Emma Pistole and included 10 straight that included a Bruns three-point play and a pair of free throws from, another freshman, Sophia Barlow. A game that saw 37 fouls whistled on both teams combined kept the charity stripes occupied and it was a free toss from from Emma Pistole that put North Adams up 39-26. A layup by Barlow as the third quarter wound down left the Lady Devils on top 41-28 as the final eight minutes began.
The Lady Falcons sprang back to life as the fourth period began, beginning with an 8-2 spurt to slice the North Adams lead to 43-36 after a three-pointer by Makenna Enz. The lead for the Lady Devils remained around the seven-eight point margin through most of the final quarter, and Minford pulled within six at 47-41 with 4:06 to play, but two North Adams possessions put the game on ice, back-to-back three-pointers from Burns and Jacee Davis which opened the lead up to 53-41.
Over the final two minutes, the Lady Devils got another two-pointer from Burns, and six points from Emma Pistole as they capped off their sixth consecutive win by the final count of 61-46.
Tenzlee Burns topped North Adams with 24 points, even after missing most of the first half, going 10-13 from the field. Emma Pistole added 20 points and 6 rebounds. Ava Pistole and Sophia Barlow added 6 points each , grabbing 6 and 5 rebounds respectively. Though she didn’t score, sophomore Jaida Harrison ran the offense in Burns’ absence, dishing out a team-high 7 assists.
Minford was paced by Kerigan Davis with 15 points, going 10-16 from the free throw line. Also reaching double figures for the Lady Falcons was Emma Carter with 11.
On Monday, January 5, the Lady Devils faced their toughest test of the season to date, traveling to Fayetteville to face the 8-1 lady Rockets in a crucial Southern Hills Athletic Conference battle. The North Adams girls will be back in action again on Friday, January 9,hosting Ironton in non-conference play, and the face another critical conference game on Saturday night when they host the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors.
Box Score
Minford
14 10 4 18 —46
North Adams
12 11 18 20 —61
Minford (46): Carter 4 3-7 11, Davis 2 10-16 15, Enz 1 4-6 7, Flaig 2 2-2 6, Howard 0 3-4 3, Team 11 22-37 46.
N. Adams (61): E. Pistole 7 6-8 20, Davis 1 0-0 3, Barlow 2 2-2 6, Burns 10 1-1 24, A. Pistole 2 2-6 6, Raines 1 0-0 2, Team 23 11-17 61.
Three-Point Goals:
Minford (2)- Davis 1, Enz 1
N. Adams (4)- Davis 1, Burns 3
