Lady Trojans put together third quarter run to advance in Section IV tournament
Greene’s Olivia Kennedy is fouled on her way to the basket by Walton’s Jacqlyn Gransbury in the Trojans’ 58-47 victory in the opening round of the Section IV Class C playoffs Wednesday night. Kennedy scored a career-high 17 points in the victory. (Photo By Pete Mansheffer)
GREENE – A slow start by the Lady Trojans of Greene wasn’t enough for the Walton Warriors to come away with the upset win Wednesday night as the host Greene put together a 17-4 run the in third quarter.
The Trojans cushion built in the stanza helped the home team and the seven-seed of the Class C Section IV tournament capture the 57-37 victory over the Warriors in the opening round.
Olivia Kennedy, a sophomore for Greene, came alive in the second half with 15 of her game-high 17 points.
Walton held an 8-4 lead early in the contest, despite stand-out senior McKenzie Clough being in foul trouble.
Cleaning up the offensive glass was Greene’s Emma Smith, coming away with several rebounds and put-back finishes to being the score to an 8-8 tie midway through the first quarter. Smith scored six of the Trojans’ first eight point tallied in the game.
The visiting Warriors pulled ahead by two at the close of the opening stanza as Clough knocked down a foul-line jumper. After a few seconds ticked off the clock in the second quarter, Greene’s Jenna Albin once again tied the game up.
Enter Walton freshman Jacqlyn Gransbury.
The Warriors youngster, who was scoreless in the first quarter but made her presence known due to her defensive play, gave her team a 16-10 lead after hitting back-to-back, deep 3-point buckets.
After the second shot by Gransbury dropped through the net, Kylee Peck of the Trojans responded at the other end with a 3-pointer of her own to cut Walton’s biggest lead of game in half.
Walton pulled ahead 18-13 as Clough went two-for-two at the foul line, getting fouled on an attempt following one of her many offensive rebounds. The Warriors called a timeout with 4:15 left in the second – a break that benefited Greene.
Out of the 30 second pause in action, the Lady Trojans Kennedy and Smith scored on two trips down the floor to bring Green within one point of Walton.
Lauren Frank made a reverse layup and Clough drained a turn-around jumper to give the Warriors a 22-18 lead at the half.
In the opening minutes of the third, Clough countered Kennedy’s two made free throws with a 12-footer to keep the lead at four. However, it was Walton’s only two points scored for more of the stanza as Greene took over, scoring 15 unanswered points to take a 35-24 advantage.
Walton’s next two points scored came at the free throw line from their senior stand-out but there was something special about the two foul shot attempts. Clough’s first made shot put her one point away from reaching 1,000 points in her career.
As all eyes watched as the senior put the second try in the air, not one person in the gym was hoping for a miss.
The ball went through the net and the entire gymnasium erupted – even Greene fans – with excitement for the Walton senior.
Clough accomplished something that not many have ever done her career when she scored that point. She is just the seventh player in Warriors’ school history to reach the milestone but what is even more impressive is that the senior also recorded 1,000 rebounds in her career.
Walton spent most of the third quarter trying to get the ball into the high-post area for Clough. Unfortunately for the Warriors, it stalled their offense and the Trojans took full advantage.
Greene’s rhythm on the offensive end of the floor didn’t disappear in the fourth as they registered 22 points in the quarter, which in return aided in the home team’s 11-point lead.
Gransbury, however, wasn’t going to let Walton go down without a fight. The young freshman made a 3-pointer in the early minutes of the quarter to pull her team within eight points.
Greene then once again put together a scoring spurt as Smith hit a jumper and was fouled then Kennedy had back-to-back fast break baskets before McKenzie Drew capped of the run with a bucket, separating the two teams by 16 points.
Walton’s freshman drained two consecutive 3-pointers – giving her five made from beyond the arc – to cut the deficit down to 10 points with 2:40 remaining but it was the final six points tallied by the Warriors in the contest.
The Trojans’ Kennedy returned the favor, knocking down a 3-point basket of her own and teammate Madison Rice banked in an attempt from behind the arc with the shot clock winding down as Greene was running time off. The home team added another four points before the end of the game, bringing the final score to 57-37.
Walton had just three players score throughout the contest with Clough and Gransbury each finishing with 15 points to lead their team in the loss. Frank chipped in the other seven points scored for the Warriors.
Greene had a balanced scoring column as seven different players recorded points in the game. Smith reached double figures with 14 points while Peck ended with eight points and Pratt tallied seven. Drew kicked in five and both Albin and Rice contributed three points.
The Trojans now move on to face second-seeded Deposit/Hancock – familiar foe from the Midstate Athletic Conference. Deposit/Hancock defeated Candor 60-47 Wednesday night, shaking off a slow start in which Candor threatened to pull off an upset early.
The quarterfinal contest is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start on Saturday, February 29. Since Deposit/Hancock is the higher seed of the two programs, the game will be hosted by the Eagles.
The Trojans cushion built in the stanza helped the home team and the seven-seed of the Class C Section IV tournament capture the 57-37 victory over the Warriors in the opening round.
Olivia Kennedy, a sophomore for Greene, came alive in the second half with 15 of her game-high 17 points.
Walton held an 8-4 lead early in the contest, despite stand-out senior McKenzie Clough being in foul trouble.
Cleaning up the offensive glass was Greene’s Emma Smith, coming away with several rebounds and put-back finishes to being the score to an 8-8 tie midway through the first quarter. Smith scored six of the Trojans’ first eight point tallied in the game.
The visiting Warriors pulled ahead by two at the close of the opening stanza as Clough knocked down a foul-line jumper. After a few seconds ticked off the clock in the second quarter, Greene’s Jenna Albin once again tied the game up.
Enter Walton freshman Jacqlyn Gransbury.
The Warriors youngster, who was scoreless in the first quarter but made her presence known due to her defensive play, gave her team a 16-10 lead after hitting back-to-back, deep 3-point buckets.
After the second shot by Gransbury dropped through the net, Kylee Peck of the Trojans responded at the other end with a 3-pointer of her own to cut Walton’s biggest lead of game in half.
Walton pulled ahead 18-13 as Clough went two-for-two at the foul line, getting fouled on an attempt following one of her many offensive rebounds. The Warriors called a timeout with 4:15 left in the second – a break that benefited Greene.
Out of the 30 second pause in action, the Lady Trojans Kennedy and Smith scored on two trips down the floor to bring Green within one point of Walton.
Lauren Frank made a reverse layup and Clough drained a turn-around jumper to give the Warriors a 22-18 lead at the half.
In the opening minutes of the third, Clough countered Kennedy’s two made free throws with a 12-footer to keep the lead at four. However, it was Walton’s only two points scored for more of the stanza as Greene took over, scoring 15 unanswered points to take a 35-24 advantage.
Walton’s next two points scored came at the free throw line from their senior stand-out but there was something special about the two foul shot attempts. Clough’s first made shot put her one point away from reaching 1,000 points in her career.
As all eyes watched as the senior put the second try in the air, not one person in the gym was hoping for a miss.
The ball went through the net and the entire gymnasium erupted – even Greene fans – with excitement for the Walton senior.
Clough accomplished something that not many have ever done her career when she scored that point. She is just the seventh player in Warriors’ school history to reach the milestone but what is even more impressive is that the senior also recorded 1,000 rebounds in her career.
Walton spent most of the third quarter trying to get the ball into the high-post area for Clough. Unfortunately for the Warriors, it stalled their offense and the Trojans took full advantage.
Greene’s rhythm on the offensive end of the floor didn’t disappear in the fourth as they registered 22 points in the quarter, which in return aided in the home team’s 11-point lead.
Gransbury, however, wasn’t going to let Walton go down without a fight. The young freshman made a 3-pointer in the early minutes of the quarter to pull her team within eight points.
Greene then once again put together a scoring spurt as Smith hit a jumper and was fouled then Kennedy had back-to-back fast break baskets before McKenzie Drew capped of the run with a bucket, separating the two teams by 16 points.
Walton’s freshman drained two consecutive 3-pointers – giving her five made from beyond the arc – to cut the deficit down to 10 points with 2:40 remaining but it was the final six points tallied by the Warriors in the contest.
The Trojans’ Kennedy returned the favor, knocking down a 3-point basket of her own and teammate Madison Rice banked in an attempt from behind the arc with the shot clock winding down as Greene was running time off. The home team added another four points before the end of the game, bringing the final score to 57-37.
Walton had just three players score throughout the contest with Clough and Gransbury each finishing with 15 points to lead their team in the loss. Frank chipped in the other seven points scored for the Warriors.
Greene had a balanced scoring column as seven different players recorded points in the game. Smith reached double figures with 14 points while Peck ended with eight points and Pratt tallied seven. Drew kicked in five and both Albin and Rice contributed three points.
The Trojans now move on to face second-seeded Deposit/Hancock – familiar foe from the Midstate Athletic Conference. Deposit/Hancock defeated Candor 60-47 Wednesday night, shaking off a slow start in which Candor threatened to pull off an upset early.
The quarterfinal contest is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start on Saturday, February 29. Since Deposit/Hancock is the higher seed of the two programs, the game will be hosted by the Eagles.
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