WILMINGTON — Playing their fourth game in just over a week, the Wilmington Lady Hurricane fell to visiting Little Miami, 49-43, Monday evening at Fred Summers Court.
For Zach Williams’ squad, now 5-6 overall, it was their second consecutive defeat, coming on the heels of a double overtime loss to East Clinton on Saturday.
After trailing at halftime, 23-18, the Lady ‘Cane came out of the lockerroom on fire, taking the lead with Maura Drake and Katie Murphy igniting the comeback.
Taylor Noszka converted a pair of free throws giving WHS a 31-27 advantage, and Murphy’s second trey of the quarter put Wilmington in front by seven, 34-27, but LM closed the gap to 34-31 after three.
In the fourth period, WHS struggled while Mara Briscoe sparked the Lady Panther rally. She was the game’s high scorer with 21, including 11 in the final period.
Broscoe put the Lady Panthers on top, 42-41, with a long-distance trey at the 3:00 mark, and the Lady Hurricane managed just one field goal the rest of the game.
Despite the loss, Williams said he saw good things from his squad.
“I just told them that the effort in the third quarter (16-8) shows what we are capable of when we get into the flow of what we do in practice,” Williams sad. “We really shot the ball well in the second half (9 of 17), something we have not done so far this year. These girls are making great strides and we know we’re gonna struggle when teams pressure us. We just have to settle down and play with more poise and control, and not hurry our passes.”
Murphy led the Lady ‘Cane attack with 17, while Drake added nine (eight coming in the second half). KeAsia Robinson scored nine on a trio of three pointers.
Next up for Wilmington will be county rival Clinton-Massie Thursday at Fed Summers Court.
“We know Massie will be ready for us and they will throw everything they have at us,” Williams said.
SUMMARY
Jan 11, 2021
Little Miami 49 Wilmington 43
LM^12^11^8^18^^49
W^9^9^16^9^^43
(49) LITTLE MIAMI (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Puckett 2-0-0-4, Kirk 2-0-0-4, Light 2-0-1-5, Thompson 3-0-1-7, Grake 1-1-0-5, Briscoe 6-3-0-21, Metz 1-0-3-5. TOTALS 17-4-5-49
(43) WILMINGTON(2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Robinson 1-0-0-2, Noszka 1-0-2-4, Diels 1-0-0-2, Johns 0-3-0-9, Drake 3-0-3-9, Murphy 2-4-1-17. TOTALS 8-7-6-43
