Lady Pioneers race past Ellis School, 75-57
ROGERSVILLE — The West Greene girls basketball squad has been known for its relentless “Press Greene” defense over the past four seasons.
And yes, the Lady Pioneers still utilize chaotic and game-changing pressure packages, but, perhaps, their offense has been the major storyline.
West Greene is one of the top offenses in the WPIAL, averaging nearly 69 points per game, and that was on display Friday night in non-section action against Ellis School, as the Lady Pioneers out-ran and out-gunned their Class AA foe with an emphatic 75-57 victory at home.
“We have really grown on offense over the years,” West Greene coach Jordan Watson said. “In the first half tonight the ball would sometime stick to one corner of the floor and we didn’t have any consistency. We had better ball movement in the second half and it was very crisp. They threw a 2-3 zone at us, so we wanted to spread them out and look to drive in those lanes.”
The Lady Pioneers (13-1) had a balance scoring attack, led by Madison Lampe’s 24 points.
“We know every non-section game this year is important,” Lampe said. “We can’t take a night off in the non-section. We have been more focus in practice and we are bringing the right attitude into these games. You can never underestimate any team. We have a lot of depth on this team and I think on any given night anybody can lead this team in scoring.”
McKenna Lampe scored 12 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter, while Kaitlyn Rizor chipped in with 11. Rizor needs 32 points for 1,000 career points to join the Lampe twins on the milestone scoring list.
“I think we look at every non-section game to prepare us for the playoffs,” Rizor said. “Ellis has a lot of speed. They are a Double-A team and we knew we had to compete at a higher level. On offense, I think all of our shooting percentages has improved since our freshman year. We are passing up good shots for great shots.”
Katharine Ference led Ellis (11-4) with 24 points, while Natalie Jasper was held to 18 points after scoring 14 in the first half.
“Sometimes I think we just wear teams down with our press and pressure,” Watson said. “It’s hard to keep up with our offense at times. We slowed down No. 1 (Jasper) in the second half and limited her drives. We run about eight, nine deep, so we are OK with our girls being aggressive and picking up fouls. We have a lot of confidence in our bench.”
Madison Lampe tallied the opening five points for the Lady Pioneers, but the visitors countered with five straight points of its own. West Greene gained separation with an 11-2 rally, before Ellis cut the first quarter deficit to 16-12 after scoring the opening quarter’s final five points.
Ellis trimmed the deficit to a one-possession game in the middle of the second stanza, 23-21, but West Greene responded with a 9-5 spree to increase its halftime lead to 32-26.
Ference opened the third quarter with a shot from beyond the arc, but once again the Lady Pioneers’ offense had a response and went on a 15-5 spurt that was capped off by a trey from Madison Lampe and a lay-up by McKenna Lampe.
West Greene held a 52-39 lead at the end of three quarters.
Every time Ellis cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter, West Greene had a response. Leading 56-46, the Lady Pioneers put together a 9-4 run to put any hope of a comeback out of reach for the visitors.
McKenna Lampe scored eight of West Greene’s final 12 points, as the home team outscored Ellis, 23-18, in the final eight minutes of play.
“We like to start fast,” Watson said. “We have picked up some key wins this season over Freeport and Washington. This win was big, too. Ellis beat Winchester Thurston by 18 points and Winchester is the team that beat us the last two years in the playoffs. I think the No. 1 seed (in Class A) is on our minds. There still a lot of games left and we just got to keep winning.”
West Greene will continue Section 2-A play at California on Tuesday, as the Lady Pioneers are searching for their 29th straight section win over the last four years.
Non-section
Ellis School聽 聽 12-16-13-18 — 57
West Greene聽 16-16-26-23 — 75
Ellis School: Katharine Ference 22, Natalie Jasper 18. West Greene: Madison Lampe 24, McKenna Lampe 20, Kaitlyn Rizor 11. Records: Ellis School (11-4), West Greene (13-1).