The Lady Yellow Jackets dialed long distance scoring 16 3-pointers in the Hampshire Tip-off Tournament with eight ringing during a 39-26 win over Sherando in the semifinals and another eight sent during a 55-47 loss in the championship against Petersburg last weekend in Sunrise Summit at Hampshire High School.
“We executed well, but shots weren’t falling inside the paint point blank missing layups. The outside shots, the threes came through for us tonight. We have to start putting the ball in the hole. It was good to start the season with a win, especially at a tournament like this one. It was first game jitters for us, but these seniors led the team. This was their last first game. I am proud of all of them coming out,” Moorefield coach Paul Keplinger noted.
In the semifinal contest against the Lady Warriors, Moorefield was led in scoring by Lindsey Rinker with 15 points which all came from the perimeter, followed by Remi Hinkle with ten points and Madison McGregor notched 3-pointers thrice for nine points.
Shots weren’t falling inside the paint for the Lady Yellow Jackets, but the outside targets were connecting.[private]
The Lady Yellow Jackets missed a jumper to start the game and Sherando grabbed the rebound, then committed a turnover which resulted in a 3-pointer by Rinker for the first points of the season at the 6:56 mark.
It was a sloppy first quarter with a plethora of turnovers on both sides of the ball with both teams having five apiece.
It wasn’t until the 1:20 mark when the next point arrived as Sherando’s Isabel Hall netted one free throw.
Moorefield answered with a 3-pointer by McGregor only five seconds later for a 6-1 advantage.
Sherando’s Haley Mack added a foul shot with 37 seconds on the clock and Moorefield’s Anna Riggleman notched one free throw with ten seconds remaining.
The Lady Warriors garnered one field goal as time expired to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Sherando opened the second period with a jumper by Roxie McVeigh at the 7:36 mark.
Moorefield responded with a 3-pointer by Rinker at the 7:11 mark for a 10-6 lead.
There were 18 combined missed field goals over the next three minutes before McGregor nailed a perimeter shot for the Lady Yellow Jackets at 3:55, 13-6.
After a jump ball, Sherando’s Haley Mack hit a jumper.
Moorefield forced a turnover and Rinker netted another trifecta at the 2:18 mark creating a 16-8 advantage carried into halftime.
Rinker and McGregor both added a pair of 3-pointers in the third period as the Lady Yellow Jackets took a 29-20 lead.
Sherando countered with treys by Grace Burke, Bella Entsminger and Brooke Williams.
The Lady Yellow Jackets found some inside shots in the fourth quarter with several baskets from Hinkle, plus jumpers by Lexi Gilhuys and Gianna Fair en route to the victory.
The Lady Trojans lost to Petersburg by a score of 52-48 in the semifinals, then defeated Sherando in the consolation game 51-28.
Petersburg took a 13-7 lead in the championship game, but the Lady Yellow Jackets rallied to take an 18-16 lead before the Lady Vikings countered to hold a 24-20 halftime lead.
Gilhuys and Fair scored five points apiece during the rally.
“We came out with no energy. Nobody was on the same page together. There were things that we did that were uncharacteristic for us. Petersburg played a good game against us executing well,” Coach Keplinger said.
Moorefield’s Lexi Gilhuys scored a game-high 21 points with five 3-pointers in the championship, followed by Gianna Fair with seven points.
Sterling Kump, Lindsey Rinker and Madison McGregor each hit a 3-pointer in the title game.
“Both teams were tired playing back-to-back nights early in the season. We kept stressing solid defense and to keep doing what we were doing. Keep pushing the tempo and things would go our way. We did enough to make that happen,” Petersburg coach Jon Webster remarked.
A 3-pointer by Sterling Kump cut the deficit to 35-31 with 1:42 remaining in the third period, but the Lady Vikings’ Kymmie Minnich netted a jumper moments later.
Gilhuys made a layup with just under three minutes left as the Lady Yellow Jackets trailed 51-45
Petersburg created shots for Lantz and Mackenzie Kitzmiller to build a double digit lead with under a minute to go.
Moorefield’s Remi Hinkle forced a turnover and scored at the buzzer for a 55-47 final.
Petersburg controlled the rebounding and were out hustling the Lady Yellow Jackets as Kayla Lantz created turnovers. Lantz led the Lady Vikings with 18 points, followed by Mickala Taylor with 11 points.[/private]
