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GIRLS: Mottern scores 1,000th point in loss to Spartans


WARFORDSBURG - Despite a big night for Olivia Mottern, Southern Fulton could not withstand the McConnellsburg Spartans, falling in a Sideling Hill League/Inter-County Conference girls basketball game Thursday, 66-58.

Mottern, a junior, scored her 1,000th career point in the fourth quarter on her 10th foul shot of the night.

She had already drained each of her free throws that night, so what’s one more?

“I hadn’t missed a free throw up to that point, but I was in my head praying I wouldn’t miss,” Mottern said. “Once I got fouled everyone just exploded because they knew I only had one left. But once it left my hand I knew it was going in.”

Mottern was a perfect 14-for-14 from the line, scoring 25 points, but that was not enough to lift the Indians over McConnellsburg.

“We were a little flustered at the beginning,” Mottern said. “I wanted to get my 1,000th, but the team is the most important thing. I really enjoyed my moment, but after the game it was a little hard in the locker room because it was hard to be happy for yourself when you don’t get the outcome your team wanted.”

McConnellsburg (8-3, 4-2 SHL, 3-2 ICC) took an 11-point lead in the second quarter that Southern Fulton (8-2, 3-2 SHL/ICC) could not eliminate, breaking the Indians' seven-game winning streak.

Bronwyne Mellott scored 36 points for McConnellsburg, scoring on all 10 free throw opportunities. She also had five steals.

“This was a huge win for our program,” Spartans coach Brent Seville said. “It's always a goal to beat Southern Fulton because they always seem to be on top of the rankings. The girls stuck to our game plan and hustled their tails off. This was a total team effort on both ends of the court. I'm so proud of them.”

Celina Merchant scored 15 points for Southern Fulton while Kellyn Perry earned 12 for McConnellsburg. Perry also had nine rebounds.

“We just didn’t show up to play and it caught up to us,” Southern Fulton coach Meagan Raville said. “We’re really happy for Liv, but we have to show and up work tomorrow.”

McConnellsburg 66, Southern Fulton 58

McConnellsburg (66)

Alexis Mellott 2 4-6 9, Bridgette Ritchey 2 2-4 6, Justice Seville 1 0-2 3, Kylie Keefer 0 0-2 0, Bronwyne Mellott 12 10-10 36, Kellyn Perry 6 0-1 12. Totals — 18 3 17-17 66.

Southern Fulton (58)

Celina Merchant 7 2-4 15, Lakyn Morton 3 0-0 9, Shayne Smartt 1 0-0 2, Olivia Mottern 5 14-14 25,  Jessie Covalt 1 0-0 2, Drew Gordon 1 2-2 4, Drew Hann 0 0-0 0 Totals — 14 4 18-20 58.

McConnellsburg _ 18 _ 13 _ 17 _ 17 _ — _ 66

Southern Fulton _ 10 _ 10 _ 20 _ 18 _ — _ 58

3-point goals — McC 3 (B.Mellott 2, A.Mellott), SF 4 (Morton 3, Mottern).

JV score — Southern Fulton 38, McConnellsburg 15. Jessie Covalt led SF with 16 points, followed by Fallon Ritz (10).

Mercersburg 59, Gerstell Academy 22 >> Mercersburg Academy returned to action Thursday, claiming victory over Gerstell Academy in a non-league game.

Mercersburg (5-1) jumped out to an early 21-7 lead in the first quarter, as they limited Gerstell to single digits in each quarter.

"This was a nice team win; several players who have seen limited minutes got a lot of playing time tonight," Mercersburg coach Katie LaRue said. "Molly Taylor did a great job running the offense and finding her shots within the flow of our system."

Taylor scored game-high 21 points, nearly outscoring Gerstell Academy by herself. She also had four assists.

Sarah Lyman scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds. She also blocked four shots, and had three steals and two assists.

Mercersburg 59, Gerstell 22

Gerstell (22)

Talbot 1 2-2 4, Wilson 4 0-0 8, Blake 2 1-1 5, Echevarria 1 3-4 5. Totals — 8 6-7 22.

Mercersburg (59)

Sam Goldman 1 0-0 2, Joana Santos 2 0-0 5, Tori Yoder 3 0-0 6, Sarah Lyman 3 2-4 8, Maddi Jones 0 0-0 0, Patrice McGloin 0 0-0 0, Molly Taylor 9 0-0 21, Carrie Jornlin 2 0-0 4, Isiuwa Oghagbon 4 1-5 9. Totals — 26 3-9 59.

Gerstell _ 7 _ 4 _ 5 _ 6 _ — _ 22

Mercersburg _ 21 _ 12 _ 13 _ 13 _ — _ 59

3-point goals — Merc 4 (Taylor 3, Santos).