LEES CREEK — Shrugging off a slow start, East Clinton ran away from Clermont Northeastern 57-49 Monday in the SBAAC National Division opener for the Astros.

“All eight girls contributed and played hard,” EC coach Bill Bean said after the win.

Megan Hadley had a career-high 23 points for East Clinton. She also handed out five assists, came up with six steals and hit 11 of 13 free throws.

Lauren Runyon poured in 18 points. grabbed six steals and hauled in a game-best 15 rebounds.

Bella Wilson, a sophomore at CNE, led all scorers with 26 points.

The Astros are 1-3 overall, 1-0 in league play. The Rockets are 1-1 in the National Division.

Clermont Northeastern shook off the bus ride to Lees Creek and jumped out to a 13-3 lead. Wilson was hot with 12 points in the opening frame as CNE led 23-13 after one. Hadley countered with eight in the first.

But the East Clinton defense took over the next two quarters, holding the Rockets to 14 total points. Hadley and Runyon had six each in the second as EC forged a 30-30 tie at the break.

The Astros parlayed that big second into a fast start in the third by scoring the first eight points and taking control of the game. From there, East Clinton secured its first win with strong shooting at the free throw line. Cheyenne Reed was 4 for 4 in the fourth as the Astros made 9 of 10 in the final period and 25 of 35 for the game.

SUMMARY

Dec 4, 2023

@East Clinton High School

Astros 57, Rockets 49

CNE^23^7^7^12^^49

EC^13^17^12^15^^57

(49) CLERMONT NORTHEASTERN (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Wilson 10-4-2-26 Pride 3-0-0-6 Brown 3-1-2-9 Best 3-0-1-7 Stahl 0-0-0-0 Blankenship 0-0-0-0 Rose 0-0-0-0 Matthews 0-0-1-1 TOTALS 19-5-6-49

(57) EAST CLINTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Schiff 0-0-0-0 Hadley 6-0-11-23 Runyon 5-0-8-18 Reed 0-0-5-5 Scott 4-0-1-9 Kaylee Terrell 0-0-0-0 Reynolds 0-0-0-0 Tate 1-0-0-2 TOTALS 16-0-25-57

FIELD GOALS: EC (16-45) Hadley 6-11 Runyon 5-9 Scott 4-8

3 PT FIELD GOALS: EC (0-3)

FREE THROWS: EC (25-35) Hadley 11-13 Runyon 8-12 Reed 5-6)

REBOUNDS: EC-33 (Runyon 15 Scott 6 Reed 5 Hadley 4)

ASSISTS: EC-12 (Hadley 5 Runyon 2 Schiff 1 Reed 1 Scott 1 Reynolds 1 Kaylee Terrell 1)

STEALS: EC-18 (Hadley 6 Runyon 6 Reed 2 Scott 1 Reynolds 1 Schiff 1)

BLOCKED SHOTS: EC-3 (Runyon 3)

TURNOVERS: EC-27