LEES CREEK – East Clinton downed cross-country rival Clinton-Massie 44-40 Saturday in girls basketball action.
The Astros (4-6), which trailed 23-14 midway through the second period, took the lead for good with a 7-0 third-quarter spurt that turned a 28-27 deficit into a 34-28 advantage.
“I told them I felt like we got that lead, 23-14, and we got complacent, and took our foot off the pedal and let them back in the game. It seemed like we lost our energy, and it carried on for the rest of the game,” CM head coach Tim McGraw said. “Every time we seemed to get a stop, we’d turn the ball over.”
Massie (2-8) pulled to within 34-32 entering the final quarter, but EC rattled off five straight to open the fourth.
“When we fell behind 39-32, I could just see that look in our eyes of ‘here we go again,’” McGraw said. “But the girls always do a good job of never quitting. They play hard and 100 percent all the time.”
Free throws by Mackenzie Campbell and Katrina Bowman in the final minute sealed the game for the Astros.
Campbell led the Astros with 15 points. Bowman added eight and Lacey Peterman chipped in with 10.
Falcon Faith Cottrell led all scorers with 22 points. Patience Chowning joined her in double-figures with 11, including three threes.
“I’m proud of the kids today. I think they dug deep in the fourth quarter. It’s rivalry game. I’ve coached in a lot of these on a lot of different sidelines. I know how important it is for a county team to win,” EC head coach Jeff Craycraft said. “In the third and fourth quarter, we just needed to take care of the ball, run our offense and look inside.”
The first quarter featured five lead changes, seven points by Cottrell and eight by Campbell before a 10-3 Massie flurry built the 23-14 cushion.
In the JV game, CM escaped with a 40-37 victory. Nora Voisey led the Falcons in the scoring column with 11. Allie Creachbaum had 10 for the Astros.
SUMMARY
January 5, 2019
@East Clinton High School
East Clinton 44 Clinton-Massie 40
CM 13.13.06.08…..40
EC 11.14.09.10…..44
(40) CLINTON-MASSIE (fg-ft-tp) Mc. Crawford 0-0-0, Cottrell 9-2-22, Ireland 0-0-0, Avery 1-0-2, Chowning 4-0-11, Lay 0-1-1, Mi. Crawford 2-0-4. Total 16-3-40. 3-point goals: 5 (Chowning 3, Cottrell 2). FTM-FTA 3-5, 60 percent.
(44) EAST CLINTON (fg-ft-tp) Campbell 6-3-15, Durbin 2-0-4, Bowman 3-2-8, Peterman 4-1-10, Boggs 1-0-2, Beener 1-0-3, McCarren 0-2-2. Total 17-8-44. 3-point goals: 2 (Beener, Peterman). FTM-FTA 8-16, 50 percent.
