OLD WASHINGTON --Although the weather outside was frightful, Meadowbrook High's Shelby Stover and Katherine Jirles were delightful, as the pair combined to score 42 points and guide the Lady Colts to victory at Buckeye Trail, 64-52.
The contest began as an arms race when Buckeye Trail (3-4) used two three-pointers from junior Alexa Abrams and a triple from Kaylie Warnock to build an 11-4 lead. In response, Meadowbrook (5-2) erupted for 10 unanswered points sparked by a pair of Bre Jones lay-ups. Jones tallied four in the opening frame, while Jirles poured in six and Alyssa Wright buried a trey from the baseline at the :15 mark to set the score at 19-13 in favor of the visitors.
The second quarter was closer, as Trail began to work the ball inside to Julie Bates, who scored nine points in the frame. For the Lady Colts, Wright and Tori Wolverton each knocked down a triple, while Stover scored eight. Bates hit a jumpshot with 2:30 left, and the half ended quietly, 33-26 in favor of the visitors.
Perhaps the difference in the game was the third quarter, in which Meadowbrook scored 20 points and held Trail to just eight. The onslaught began with back-to-back post scores from Jirles and Stover, as the duo would go on to score eight and seven points, respectively. Stover ended the quarter with five made free-throws to boost the Lady Colts to a comfortable 53-34 lead.
A few more lay-ups by the Lady Colts was enough to empty the benches and allow the backups to play, and Buckeye Trail's Morgan Abrams spearheaded an effort to cut into the lead, scoring 10 points in the final four minutes. The damage was done, however, and the Lady Colts and head coach Tommy Strasser left with their fifth win of the season.
"Coming in, one of our strengths is our inside game," Strasser mentioned. "We knew that they were strong inside, with (Courtney) Frame and Bates- they are so tough to stop or score on. I thought both teams played well inside, but foul trouble hurt them."
While Stover and Jirles were patrolling the paint, the Lady Colts' backcourt was directing traffic and limiting turnovers.
"We have been working hard on taking care of the ball," the Meadowbrook coach continued. "I thought Wolverton and (Candace) Neff and Jones did a good job taking care of the basketball and getting the inside looks we wanted.
"Credit to Trail- we got some turnovers with our defensive traps," Strasser admitted. "They made us pay with their defensive pressure, and we are fortunate to have come out of here with a win."
For Buckeye Trail and head coach John Ferguson, the mistakes experienced were familiar.
"It seems like it is a broken record with us," Ferguson said. "We hurt ourselves with turnovers, and whatever it is about the third quarter- we just can't get through it, I don't get it.
"You are not going to get a much better combination to those two," the Trail coach advised of Jirles and Stover. "I thought we did a lot of good things, but we still have mental breakdowns, and we can't put four quarters together."
As far as breakdowns go, the Lady Warriors coughed up the ball 21 times, while Meadowbrook committed only 11 turnovers. The Lady Colts also enjoyed a rebounding advantage, grabbing 31 to Trail's 25. The hosts shot 20-of-48 from the field (41 percent), and 7-of-15 from the free-throw line (46 percent). Meadowbrook converted 13-of-16 fouls shots (81 percent) and 27-of-61 field goals (44 percent).
Jirles led all scorers with 22 points and 7 boards, while Stover finished with a double-double, recording 20 markers and 10 rebounds. Stover also led the defense with seven steals and shot 12-of-14 from the free-throw line. Wright added 6 points; and Jones and Neff each tallied five counters.
Buckeye Trail was led by Bates, who registered 16 points and eight boards. Morgan Abrams notched 10 markers; Alexa Abrams poured in nine points; Warnock hit two three-pointers on her way to a six-point performance; and LeeAnna Sichina contributed five points and five caroms.
Meadowbrook 60, West Muskingum 53
SOUTH ZANESVILLE--Behind another monster effort in the paint from Katherine Jirles and Shelby Stover, the Meadowbrook High Lady Colts battled past West Muskingum Wednesday, 60-53.
Down by nine points heading into halftime, Meadowbrook (6-2) got a necessary boost when Alyssa Wright hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the West Muskingum (7-2) lead to six.
The momentum carried over into the third quarter, as Jirles poured in eight points to lead the Lady Colts to a 23-10 advantage in the frame.
"We were not happy with our first-half rebounding," Meadowbrook head coach Tommy Strasser admitted. "The second half, we really controlled the boards and got the lead."
West Muskingum made a run in the fourth quarter to threaten the Meadowbrook lead, coming within a point, but the Lady Colts were able to fend them off as they hit six free throws down the stretch to pull away and take the victory.
Each team secured 36 rebounds in the contest, and most of the stats reflect an even game. Meadowbrook committed 14 turnovers to West Muskingum's 15, the Lady Colts recorded 13 assists to the Lady Tornadoes' 12, the visitors swiped 11 steals to the hosts' eight.
Meadowbrook shot 20-of-49 (40 percent) from the field, while West Muskingum hit 25-of-61 field goals (40 percent).
The free-throw line proved to be part of the difference for Meadowbrook, as they hit 16 shots on 26 trips to the line, while the Lady Tornadoes only shot 1-of-3 from the charity stripe.
A balanced Meadowbrook scoring attack was led by a pair of double-doubles from Jirles and Stover, as Jirles scored 15 points and snared 13 boards and Stover tallied 11 points and 14 rebounds. Bre Jones hit two triples en route to a 14-point performance; Tori Wolverton recorded 12 points and three steals; Candace Neff had five points, three steals, and three assists; and Alyssa Wright scored three points.
"We really attacked the basket at the end of the game," Strasser remarked. "Tori scored 10 points in the second half, and that was big."
West Muskingum was paced by Karie Collins with 13 points and 13 boards, while Kaylee Nutter scored 12. Stephanie Imes added 11 points, and Erika Winland contributed nine.