DRAFFENVILLE — The McCracken County Lady Mustangs traveled to Reed Conder Gymnasium to battle against a familiar foe on the basketball court. With all hands on deck, the Lady Mustangs defeated the Lady Marshals with a 58-12 victory on Tuesday night ahead of the boys’ game in the doubleheader.
The first quarter started with McCracken County going on a 6-0 run with the handiwork of seniors Destiny Thomas, Briley Benton, and junior Claire Johnson. However, the Lady Mustangs kept Marshall County silenced until the three-minute mark in the quarter when sophomore Laken Schroader’s layup placed the Lady Marshals on the board.
Marshall County senior Mia Teague posted two more points for the Lady Marshals in the first quarter, going two-for-two at the free-throw line.
The second quarter was all Lady Mustang, with Thomas and Johnson controlling the court with a dominating force, outwitting their Marshall County opponent and silencing them offensively with a pressuring defense. However, as time ticked away in the quarter, the Lady Marshals, despite efforts by Teague and Schroader, could not contain McCracken County, who outscored them 17-0 before halftime.
Along with points from Thomas and Johnson, Mikee Buchanan assisted in the 26-4 McCracken County lead over Marshall County at halftime.
During intermission, allowing both teams to regroup and compose a plan, Thomas led all scorers with 13 points, Johnson with eight, Benton with three, and Buchanan with two. For Marshall County, Schroader and Teague had a combined four points.
Thomas led all scorers in the victory with 20 points, while Johnson followed behind with 14 points. Schroader led Marshall County with four points.
In the second half of the contest, McCracken County continued to increase the lead over Marshall County, adding 22 points in the third quarter with all hands on deck from Johnson, Thomas, Buchanan, and seniors Jordan Bufford and Caroline Sivills. During the third quarter, McCracken County’s 3-pointers were electric and crowd-pleasing for the Mustang fan side of the gymnasium, all nine points from Bufford and Buchanan.
Schroader and junior Chevelle Henson posted five points for the Lady Marshals in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Marshall County’s Harli English dropped a 3-pointer, allowing the Lady Marshals to finish the game in double digits.
For McCracken County, the fourth quarter added extra cushion to the lead as Benton, and freshman Reagan Hill took trips to the free throw line, going two-for-two in the quarter. Thomas, Sivills, and senior Belle York added a field goal in the quarter, allowing the Lady Mustangs to take home a 58-12 win.
The McCracken County Lady Mustangs will play Owensboro Catholic (13-3) on Saturday at Strawberry Hills Pharmacy Arena and then host Mayfield’s Lady Cardinals (9-4) on Monday. The Marshall County Lady Marshals (8-9) will host the Graves County Lady Eagles (12-3) on Friday night at Reed Conder Gymnasium.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 58, MARSHALL COUNTY 12
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 9 17 22 10 — 58
MARSHALL COUNTY 4 0 5 3 — 12
MCCRACKEN COUNTY: D. Thomas 20, C. Johnson 14, M. Buchanan 10, B. Benton 5, C. Sivills 4, J. Bufford 3, B. York 2, R. Hill 2. FIELD GOALS: 16 (D. Thomas 7, C. Johnson 4, M. Buchanan 2, C. Sivills 2, R. Hill). 3-POINTERS: 5 (M. Buchanan 2, C. Johnson, J. Bufford, B. Benton). FREE THROWS: 11/14. RECORD: 17-2.
MARSHALL COUNTY: L. Schroader 4, H. English 3, M. Teague 2. FIELD GOALS: 2 (L. Schroader). 3-POINTERS: 1 (H. English). FREE THROWS: 2/2. RECORD: 8-9.
MARSHALL COUNTY 57, MCCRACKEN COUNTY 53
In the second game of the MCHS squared doubleheader, the Marshall County Marshals took away the perfect record of the McCracken County Mustangs with a 57-53 win. The victory for the Marshals moved McCracken County to a 14-1 record this season.
Marshall County’s Wade Moore led the Marshals to victory, tallying 29 points in the contest and leading all scorers.
Although the game began with McCracken County’s Jack McCune posting a 3-point field goal to kick off the night, Marshall County wasted no time pressuring the Mustangs with Moore at the helm. However, despite Moore commanding on his home court, McCracken County’s Carson Purvis and Jack Bradley kept the Mustangs close to the Marshals.
Foul trouble began early for both sides of the court in the first quarter and became a theme throughout the night at Reed Conder. However, Marshall County collected 13 fouls to McCracken County’s 19 in the contest. The fouls would benefit Marshall County in the end, even with less than 10 seconds left to play in the final quarter of the doubleheader.
The Mustangs, who are currently down two significant players in Ian Hart and Connor Miller, kept up with the Marshals in the first quarter, only trailing by one point going into the second. During the second quarter, McCune, Jordan Bridges, and Jonathan Venable offensively shined for McCracken County against a well-oiled Marshall County.
Moore, who controlled most of the matchup for Marshall County, already had 20 points before halftime. On McCracken County’s side, McCune led the Mustangs with 14 points. At the half, Marshall County led 32-28 over the Mustangs.
The third quarter belonged to McCracken County, with evenly spread scoring from the Mustangs. Bridges led the Mustangs in the quarter, tallying six points, which included a 3-point shot that sent the McCracken County bench into a gleeful uproar. The Mustangs led 46-43 going into the final quarter. However, foul trouble and the Marshals were both looming for McCracken County.
With most of the Marshall County points coming from the free throw line, the Marshals were able to push ahead of McCracken County. In the fourth quarter, with assists from Moore, Alex Staples, and Hunter Wallace, the team completed the win for Marshall County.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 15 13 18 7 — 53
MARSHALL COUNTY 16 16 11 14 — 57
MCCRACKEN COUNTY: J. McCune 16, J. Bradley 11, C. Purvis 11, J. Bridges 7, J. Venable 7, G. Parish 1. FIELD GOALS: 12 (J. Bradley 4, J. McCune 3, C. Purvis 2, J. Bridges). 3-POINTERS: 7 (C. Purvis 2, J. McCune 2, J. Bradley, J. Bridges). FREE THROWS: 8/12. RECORD: 14-1.
MARSHALL COUNTY: W. Moore 29, A. Staples 12, H. Wallace 6, O. Phelps 3, L. Davis 3, T. Wall 3, T. Robertson 1. FIELD GOALS: 14 (W. Moore 9, A. Staples 2, H. Wallace, O. Phelps, L. Davis). 3-POINTERS: 3 (W. Moore, T. Wall, H. Wallace). FREE THROWS: 20/25. RECORD: 13-3.
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