LEES CREEK —East Clinton battled to the very end but fell short in a 52-42 loss to McClain Wednesday night at the EC gym in South Central Ohio League Play.
“They were very physical and they got after us,” said East Clinton head coach Steven Gerber.
Lacey Peterman and Paige Lilly led the Astros with 10 points each. Bre Davis had multiple offensive rebounds and 9 points as well.
Lexie Barton led the Tigers with 20 points. Taylor Polley had 12 and Malea Montavon had 11, with 7 of those coming in the first.
After getting off to a slow start, the Astros were able to take the lead midway through the first quarter. The lead continued to change until a run by the Tigers late in the period. Despite 7 points from Lilly in the opening period, East Clinton trailed 18-12 going into the second period.
The Astros got off to another slow start in the second quarter not scoring for the first two minutes. Although they struggled, the Astros were within five late in the half. However, a buzzer-beater by Barton sent the Lady Tigers into the lockerroom with a 9-point advantage.
The third quarter was all McClain. The Astros managed 8 points in the quarter but were shut-out for almost 5 minutes during the period. EC had a late flurry with 6 points in the final minute of the quarter. Meanwhile, McClain took advantage during the quarter and left the Astros in a 14-point hole going into the final period. Barton led the way with 7 in the quarter.
“We just always have these quarters that hurt us and against good teams like that, we can’t have those,” said coach Gerber.
Things turned around for the Astros in the fourth quarter as they went on a run late to close the gap. With less than a minute to go, the Tigers lead was reduced to 6 points but they were able to make the most of their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“I thought the kids did a good job battling back there in the fourth quarter,” said Gerber.
The Astros next game will be Saturday at home against Madison-Plains.
SUMMARY
January 25, 2017
@East Clinton High School
McClain 52 East Clinton 42
GM 18.09.13.12…..52
EC 12.06.08.16…..42
(42) EAST CLINTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) La. Peterman 4-2-0-10 Campbell 1-0-3-5 Lilly 4-1-1-10 Durbin 2-0-0-4 Davis 3-0-3-9 Christian 2-0-0-4 Hall 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 16-3-7/13-42
(52) McCLAIN (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Montgomery 2-0-3-7 Stegbauer 1-0-0-2 Malea Montavon 5-1-0-11 Polley 4-1-3-12 Uhrig 0-0-0-0 Barton 7-2-4-20 Kegley 0-0-0-0 Makenzie Montavon 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 19-4-10/20-52
