After dropping their first two contests at the Lady Hornet Classic in Mt. Sterling, the West Prairie/Southeastern girls basketball team picked up their first victory of the tourney Nov. 25 by edging past Unity 43-40.
The Cyclones trailed 9-8 after one quarter before catching fire in the second quarter to outscore the Mustangs 17-13 and grab a 25-22 halftime lead. WP/SE hit five of its six three-pointers in the game during that stretch including three treys from sophomore Madison McClure.
Unity would rally in the third quarter to go back on top at 35-34, but the Cyclones’ defense took over in the final eight minutes by holding Unity to no field goals and just five free throws to secure the victory.
WP/SE used a balanced scoring attack led by McClure’s nine points while Madelynn Sullivan and Alyvia Barkley had eight points apiece. Payton McGrew and Kara Stephens each finished with seven points as the Cyclones improved to 2-2 for the season.
Michaela Voth finished with a game-high 12 points to lead Unity.
“I was really proud of the way we battled all night,” said WP/SE Head Coach Grant Bland. “Having seven different players scoring tonight was huge and Madison McClure provided a huge spark off the bench.”
“(Unity) was a team that beat us 54-17 a year ago, so I’m very proud with how we’ve improved.”
WP/SE concluded the week with a rematch against Rushville- Industry on Friday night and the Lady Rockets avenged a season-opening loss by edging past the Cyclones 63-61.
The game was close throughout as WP/SE led 20-19 after one quarter before RIHS came back to tie the score at 32-32 at halftime.
The Rockets outscored the Cyclones 15-8 in the third quarter to jump out to a 47-40 advantage before WP/SE would rally late to get close, but R-I hit 5-of-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to hang on for the win.
WP/SE (3-3) had three players in double-figures and were led by Stephens with 19 points. McGrew finished with 16 and Sullivan added 13 points in the losing cause.
RIHS was led by Kate Stambaugh’s game-high 27 points and got 21 points from Devin Vogler as the Rockets improved to 1-6 on the season.
Bland attributed the loss primarily to his team’s cold shooting.
“(RIHS) came out shooting. They were 6-for-11 from (three-point range) and 10-of-12 from the foul line,” said Bland. “We were 2-of-14 from three and 7-of-14 from the line.”
