McKenna Lampe tops 1,000 career points
ROGERSVILLE 鈥� West Greene蘑菇视频 McKenna Lampe racked up 31 points lsat Thursday night and surpassed 1,000 career points, as the Lady Pioneers kicked off their Section 2-A schedule with a 75-17 rout of visiting Jefferson-Morgan.
Lampe needed 26 points to hit the milestone entering the game. She had 18 at halftime and then started the third quarter with 13 consecutive points for the Lady Pioneers (6-0, 1-0).
鈥淚 never really thought about getting 1,000 as a freshman,鈥� Lampe said. 鈥淭his is such an unbelievable feeling and I鈥檓 just shocked that I got it. I was just trying to play my game and I wasn鈥檛 keeping track of how many points I had. I just had to relax on the floor tonight.鈥�
The junior guard calmly sank two free throws to reach the scoring plateau at the 5:53 mark of the third quarter.
Lampe is the 15th member of the 1,000-point club at West Greene and is only the third player to eclipse the scoring mark since 2014.
鈥淢cKenna had roughly 45 games to get over 1,000, so there was no pressure on her tonight,鈥� West Greene coach Jordan Watson said. 鈥淚 was glad it happened at home and I imagine she蘑菇视频 glad it蘑菇视频 over with. She had a lot of assists tonight, and she wasn鈥檛 being selfish.
鈥淲hen you mix a great work ethic like she has with a great athlete, that蘑菇视频 a pretty good combo. As a freshman, she was more of a slasher. She has developed her outside shot and has really worked at getting a better shot selection. She is also a more consistent foul shooter too.鈥�
Rachel Phillips, a 2006 graduate, holds the all-time scoring record at West Greene with 1,838 points.
鈥淚 think over the years I have become a better passer,鈥� Lampe said. 鈥淚 think my outside shot has been better, too, but I think as a team we are unselfish and we look for the pass more than the shot. I just want to be balance on offense.鈥�
Elizabeth Brudnock scored 15 points off the bench for the Lady Pioneers, while Madison Lampe and Kaitlyn Rizor finished with 13 and nine points, respectively.
Katey Wolfe was the high scorer for the Lady Rockets (1-6, 0-1) with 10 points.
鈥淚t was a tough one tonight,鈥� J-M coach Dawn Spence said. 鈥淚 think in the future we just have to be more patient against a press. We are just rushing up the floor too fast and literally throwing the ball right to them. We have to find the open player. West Greene has the size and speed, but they also have a lot of cohesiveness on their press. They communicate well.鈥�
West Greene opened up the contest with eight unanswered points before a free throw by Wolfe at the 5:31 mark broke the scoreless streak for the visitors.
The home team scored the next 11 points and closed the opening frame with a 13-1 run for a commanding 32-4 lead at the end of one. Brudnock had a quarter-high 10 points.
West Greene opened the second quarter with a 7-4 rally, and then ended the period with a 17-0 spurt for a 56-8 halftime lead.
鈥淥ur passing was key tonight,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淲e practice those long, diagonal passes a lot and these girls are such great athletes with good arms. There accuracy is spot on and I thought our passing was really crisp in transition. We always preach to pass up a good shot for a great shot.鈥�
With the running clock in effect in the second half, the Lady Pioneers held a 19-9 scoring edge.
鈥淲e have a very simple offense and we are just hoping we can run it more consistently,鈥� Spence said. 鈥淲e are going back to the basics and working on the fundamentals. We have to protect the ball better and run our plays. We have to limit our turnovers.鈥�
Both teams will participated in Christmas Tournaments on Wednesday.
West Greene played Mapletown at the Bentworth Tournament, while J-M faced Carmichaels at the California Tournament.
鈥淭his group is unselfish,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been telling them that we have eight or 10 starters and we will mix our line-up game to game. There蘑菇视频 no bickering and these girls just want to win. I believe that everyone fills a role and I like where we are at right now. It蘑菇视频 still a long season, but I like the make-up of this team.鈥�