First Region foes Marshall County and McCracken County squared off on Friday at Reed Conder Gymnasium. The two-time defending region champion Lady Mustangs have won the last seven straight over the Lady Marshals. The last win for the Lady Marshals came in the First Region Tournament championship game in 2021.
McCracken County took control from the opening tip and led start to finish in the 65-40 win. Veteran seniors Claire Johnson and Mikee Buchanan combined for 42 points. Johnson led with 23 and Buchanan finished the night with 21.
Senior Chevelle Henson led the Lady Marshals with 12 points and junior Laken Schroader was in double figures with 10.
“We didn’t handle the pressure like we need to handle the pressure, and I told them it wasn’t going to be easy”, said Head Coach Aaron Beth. “But at the same time, we have two very inexperienced guards that have to learn to play through that pressure and make plays. Skylar playing on a torn ACL makes her two or three steps slower and it’s hard for her to do what she used to do.”
Johnson opened the game with a 3-pointer and scored nine points for the Lady Mustangs in the first quarter to help build a 22-6 lead.
The Lady Marshals cut the lead to 12 in the second quarter but headed to the halftime locker room down by 20 points at 37-17.
Buchanan scored 14 third quarter points for McCracken County to help push their lead to 63-28.
Freshman Kenzlee Terry hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter for the Lady Marshals and they went on to outscore McCracken County 12-2 to cut the final deficit down to 25 points.
“Give them a lot of credit for being good but if we want to compete with that, we’ve got to learn how to handle their pressure better and execute and not be so scared and it’s easier said than done”, Beth said. “It’s not going to be a quick fix. It’s something we’re going to have to work on and progress throughout the season so hopefully a month and a half or two months from now, at tournament time, then we’re better than we were tonight.”
The Marshall County Holiday Classic will take place December 20-21. The Lady Marshals will play three games starting Wednesday against Hancock County (3-5) at 2:30. Two on Thursday start with a 10:00 am game against Christian County (3-3) and 8:00 will play Union County (4-1).
Marshall 6 11 11 12 – 40
McCracken 22 15 26 2 – 65
Marshall (5-2): Chevelle Henson 12, Laken Schroader 10, Skylar Waller 5, Kenzlee Terry 3, Eden Sandlin 3, Rylee Teague 3, Izzy Washburn 2, Addi Wall 2
McCracken (4-1): Claire Johnson 23, Mikee Buchanan 21, Jayden Skaggs 13, Reagan Hill 4, Ava Hughes 4
