Font ResizeFrom staff reports
McCONNELLSBURG -- If there is one example of how much the McConnellsburg girls team has improved, Thursday's game against Southern Fulton was it.
The Spartans played strong defense and matched their opponent shot-for-shot. But on this night it was the Indians who took advantage of a last-ditch shot attempt and upheld their Sideling Hill League dominance with a 31-30 win.
With 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Southern Fulton guard Macey Hollenshead penetrated the lane and passed to Courtney Strait on the wing. Strait made a move to beat her defender on the block and scored a layup with 3.3 seconds remaining that gave the Indians a 31-28 lead.
After a timeout, Libby Strayer hit a layup for the Spartans (6-8, 2-6 SHL) as she was fouled. Strayer missed her free throw and McConnellsburg's 23-foot desperation shot at the buzzer fell short.
"We've had a lot of games this year where we were right there and just haven't been able to pull it out," Spartans coach Dave Garland said. "But my kids played as hard as they possibly could. It came down to one bucket here and there that could have gone either way. The kids played a very good game."
Nikki Fleming posted a double-double for McConnellsburg, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Macey Hollenshead led the Indians (13-0, 7-0 SHL) with 11 points.
"McConnellsburg played us tough," SF coach Mark Mellott said. "We didn't shoot very well because of their defense. I
The Spartans came up big in limiting Hollenshead, the area's leading scorer, but Strait stepped up with seven points for the Indians. Southern Fulton shot only 18 percent from the floor.
"You have to pay attention to Macey. You have to key on her," Garland said. "Libby did a tremendous job. That was her responsibility all night. Macey only had three field goals, one of which was a breakaway layup off a steal. Our kids played hard and we were right there until the very end. We have ourselves a good team."
Southern Fulton 31
McConnellsburg 30
SOUTHERN FULTON
Courtney Strait 3 1-2 7, Kayla Chilcote 2 0-0 4, Taelor Morton 3 0-0 6, Kayla Wertz 1 0-0 3, Macey Hollenshead 3 4-4 11, Jenna Hollenshead 0 0-0 0, Maddie Mellott 0 0-0 0, Ashley Roman 0 0-0 0, Sarrah Pollock 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 5-6 31.
McCONNELLSBURG
Nikki Fleming 4 3-4 11, Libby Strayer 1 0-2 2, Jessi Pittman 1 5-6 7, Becca Hahn 3 0-0 7, Rikki Green 1 1-4 3, Sam Roberts 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 9-16 30.
Southern Fulton 4 12 9 6 -- 31
McConnellsburg 8 15 4 3 -- 30
3-point shots -- SF 2 (Wertz, M.Hollenshead); McC 1 (Hahn). Shooting -- SF 12-66 (18%); McC 10-35 (29%). Rebounds -- SF 31 (Strait 14); McC 38 (Hahn 12, Fleming 10). Assists -- SF 5 (M.Hollenshead 4); McC 7. Steals -- SF 19 (Strait 6, M.Hollenshead 6); McC 10 (Strayer 5). Turnovers -- SF 15; McC 27. Blocked shots -- SF 2 (Strait); McC 3. Fouled out -- Pollock.
JV: Southern Fulton 39, McConnellsburg 37. Jessi Pittman led the Spartans with 18 points.
Next game: SF: Tuesday, at Tussey Mountain, 7:30 ... McConn: Monday, home vs. Hyndman, 7:30. SIDELING HILL
Fannett-Metal 59
Forbes Road 48
Thursday, at Willow Hill
Sideling Hill League game
Fannett-Metal earned its first league victory of the season by defeating Forbes Road ... The Tigers (5-7, 1-7 SHL) took a 14-2 first-quarter lead and never looked back ... F-M assistant Todd Best said, "We jumped out of the gate pretty quick, put pressure on their guards and got some steals. They were a little cold shooting the ball, but we got rebounds and were really able to take advantage of our opportunities there. It was nice to get a win." ... Blaire Lauthers led the Tigers with 23 points and Megan Dougherty added 14 points, including the game's only 3-pointer ... For the Cardinals (6-8, 2-6 SHL), Breanna Worthing scored 10 points.
Fannett-Metal 59, Forbes Road 48
FORBES ROAD
Jess Gearhart 3 1-1 7, Sammie Clippinger 4 0-0 8, Corri Parson 0 2-2 2, Shayla Carmack 2 4-4 8, Shania Gelvin 2 0-0 4, Haley Lashinsky 1 0-0 2, Braylin Hohman 2 3-6 7, Breanna Worthing 5 0-3 10, Cora Wilt 0 0-0 0, S.Worthing 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-16 48.
FANNETT-METAL
Hailey Nye 1 0-0 2, Megan Dougherty 6 1-3 14, Naomi Fields 2 2-2 6, Blaire Lauthers 9 5-7 23, Melissa Zeger 4 1-4 9, McKenna Bair 1 0-0 2, Amanda Laye 0 3-6 3. Totals 23 12-22 59.
Forbes Road 2 15 19 12 -- 48
Fannett-Metal 14 18 14 13 -- 59
3-point shots -- FM 1 (Dougherty). Shooting -- FM 23-62 (37%). Rebounds -- FM 33 (Fields 10). Assists -- FM 5 (Baer 2). Steals -- FM 17 (Lauthers 5). Turnovers -- FM 15. Blocked shots -- FM 4 (Lauthers 3).
JV: Forbes Road 48, Fannett-Metal 17. Amanda Laye led the Tigers with 8 points. Breanna Worthing scored 15 for the Cardinals.
Next game: FR: Tuesday, home vs. Northern Bedford, 7:30 ... F-M: Tuesday, home vs. Chestnut Ridge, 7:30.
MASON-DIXON
Shalom Christian 37
Faith Christian 18
Thursday, at Marion
Mason-Dixon Christian Conf. game
Shalom Christian trailed early, but gradually pulled away from Faith Christian ... The Flames (5-5, 5-4 MDCC) held Faith to 9 points total in the final 3 periods ... "It was a good game for us; we needed a win," Shalom coach Brad Eby said. "I was pround of how the girls played. Faith hasn't won a game yet and they are struggling with their shooting." ... For the Flames, Natasha Gibble scored 10 points, Karlee Wise had 9 and Tori Yoder piled up 24 rebounds and had 6 steals.
Shalom 37, Faith 18
FAITH
Millner 2 2-4 6, Grammo 1 0-0 3, E.Castle 1 2-2 4, Denefeuf 1 3-10 5. Totals 5 7-18 18.
SHALOM
Tori Yoder 1 4-11 6, Natasha Gibble 4 2-4 10, Lydia Tissue 3 0-0 6, Karlee Wise 3 1-2 9, Rachel Holderman 2 0-0 4, Kara Lehman 1 0-2 2, Jennifer Knepper 0 0-0 0, Maris Baer 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-17 37.
Faith 9 4 2 3 -- 18
Shalom 8 12 7 10 -- 37
3-point shots -- Faith 1 (Grammo); SC 2 (Wise 2). Shooting -- SC 14-62 (22.5%). Rebounds -- SC 52 (Yoder 24). Steals -- SC 11 (Yoder 6). Turnovers -- SC 12. Blocked shots -- SC 5 (Holderman 3).
Next game: Saturday, home vs. Broadfording, 2:30.
IPSL
St. John's Catholic Prep 51
Mercersburg Academy 24
Thursday, at Mercersburg
Ind.-Parocial Schools League game
Mercersburg Academy faced a 10-point deficit at halftime, but never had a chance to catch up to St. John's Catholic Prep after the third period, in which the Blue Storm (5-6, 0-3 IPSL) were outscored 13-1 ... "It was at least competitive in the first half," Mercersburg assistant coach David Bell said. "But in the third quarter we couldn't throw the ball in the ocean and that blew the game open." ... The Storm was also troubled by 37 turnovers ... MacKenzie Brink led Mercersburg with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
St. John's 51, Mercersburg 24
ST. JOHN'S
B.Pierce 2 2-2 6, Jones 5 3-6 14, Middeke 1 0-0 2, M.Pierce 7 2-2 16, Greene 2 0-0 5, Wilson 1 0-2 2, Hagan 3 0-2 6. Totals 21 7-14 51.
MERCERSBURG
Hanna Warfield 2 1-3 5, Melody Gomez 1 2-5 4, MacKenzie Brink 4 1-2 9, Meredith Wallace 2 0-1 4, Sarah Firestone 1 0-2 -2, Elise Robbins 0 0-0 0, Teal Tasker 0 0-0 0, Emily Schoenberger 0 0-0 0, Syd Godbey 0 0-0 0, Paige Richardson 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 4-13 24.
St. John's 14 10 13 14 -- 51
Mercersburg 7 7 1 9 -- 24
3-point shots -- SJ 2 (Jones, Green); MA 0. Shooting -- MA 10-33 (30.3%). Rebounds -- MA 35 (Brink, Gomez 6). Assists -- MA 3. Steals -- MA 10 (Brink 3). Turnovers -- MA 37. Blocked shots -- MA 2.
JV: St. John's 24, Mercersburg 22. Charlotte Rhoad led the Blue Storm with 10 points.
Next game: Saturday, home vs. Hun, 1.
