Lampe pours in 33 to lead West Greene past J-M
ROGERSVILLE — West Greene’s McKenna Lampe tallied 33 points and hit five shots from beyond the arc, as the Lady Pioneers rolled over Jefferson-Morgan, 72-31, Tuesday night in both squads’ Section 2-A opener.
Lampe collected 10 first quarter points and added 11 more in the second quarter to break the Lady Pioneers’ five-game skid against their Greene County rival.
“McKenna led the offense tonight,” West Greene coach Jordan Watson said. “She hit her threes, but she was also aggressive with her drives to the paint. I think she had 12 free throw attempts tonight, too. She is not just a jump shooter, she’s a complete player. When we score in the 70s we are pretty confident we can win those games.“
It was West Greene’s first win over J-M since the 2013-14 season, as forced turnovers and fast-break points favored the Lady Pioneers on the night.
Kaitlyn Rizor finished with 16 points, while Madison Lampe scored 11 for West Greene (1-0, 8-1).
“We didn’t play particular well in the first quarter,” Watson said. “That’s unusual for us because we like to jump on teams and get a big lead early in the game. We were sloppy on offense, but we turned it around the next quarter. They had some girls get in foul trouble and we switched some presses on them that confused them.”
Jamie Lawerence led the Lady Rockets (4-7, 0-1) with 11 points, while Erin Confortini and Megan Pecjak chipped in with seven apiece.
“It didn’t help that our two primary ball-handlers had foul trouble in the second quarter and we had to sit them,” J-M coach Chris Niemiec said. “Regardless, they run their press well and it’s very difficult to break consistently. They are well-coached and they don’t gamble too much. We didn’t step to the ball enough. We practice on Monday eight-vs-five to simulate their press.”
After the visitors grabbed an early 6-5 lead in the opening minutes, West Greene retook the lead and scored 11 unanswered points to take a 16-6 lead at the end of one quarter.
In the second quarter, the teams traded points to start the quarter, but once again the Lady Pioneers’ pressure defense took over and the home team ended the first half on a 12-2 run for a 39-12 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was the most evenly played period of the night, as J-M scored six of the first seven points and West Greene countered with an 11-3 spurt for a 51-21 lead going into the fourth.
“I liked our effort in the second half,” Niemiec said. “We were able to break their press and run an offense. We showed a lot more patience in the second half than the first half. I think we got tired and we just couldn’t respond to their big runs throughout the game.”
It was all Lady Pioneers in the final eight minutes of play, as the home team carried a 21-10 scoring edge in the quarter for the section triumph.
Both teams will be back in section action on Thursday, as West Greene visits Mapletown and J-M entertains Monessen.
“These girls are so focused and they don’t look at the big picture too much,” Watson said. “They are taking it one game, one quarter and one minute at a time. Their goal is to be 10-0 in the section and we know this section is very tough. These girls want to win at everything.”