Photos by Nick Woodlock
You never know what to expect come tournament time, and for Plymouth, Thursday night’s
Sectional semifinal match-up with Lucas was a grind from the outset in nearly every facet of the game.
The Lady Big Red hit just one of their first 15 shots from the field and were never able to generate more than two buckets in any quarter, as a cold shooting night, turnovers, rebounding and an opportunistic group of Lady Cubs all spelled trouble, as the PHS season came to an end, 39-23, at Crestview High School.
Plymouth (7-16) finished the night at just 16 percent from the field (6-of-37), including a 3-for22 mark in the first half. Yet they still managed to hang within single-digits of Lucas, who only led, 10-5, after one quarter and 21-12 at the half.
Turnovers plagued the Lady Big Red in the third quarter, as they committed 14 of their 25--beginning with 10 in the first 4:45 of play in the period.
Along with the tough shooting night, Plymouth didn’t get many second chance opportunities, as Lucas controlled the glass, 36-22, led by three players with seven or more boards.
“We just couldn’t make shots,” said Plymouth Head Coach Wes Hockman, whose team finished 3-for24 on two-point attempts. “I can’t imagine what our shooting percentage was. But credit Lucas. They’ve really improved. Tonight wasn’t even that close. We beat them by four earlier at our place, but their young kids really stepped up tonight.”
The Lady Cubs
piled up nine third quarter steals, as they stretched their lead to as much as 17 (31-14). Autumn Spears banked in a buzzer-beating three to make it a 31-17 game entering the fourth.
Jaylin Branham snapped a scoreless night with four free throws in the first 1:54 of the fourth to chip the deficit down to 31-21, but Katie Griffey (10 points, nine rebounds) was able to leak out for a transition lay-up and added another field goal to spark an 8-0 Lucas run to put things away.
Sarah Hoak hit a pair of first half threes and scored all seven of her points in the opening two periods to lead the way offensively for PHS.
“Sarah started out like you want a senior to do,” noted Hockman. “Unfortunately, we just could not get anyone else going with her.”
Branham added six points, while Lydia Patton tallied four points and eight rebounds.
Shelby Grover’s 12 points and five steals led Lucas, who advanced to face South Central in the Sectional finals on Saturday. She also grabbed seven rebounds. Maggie Restelli contributed six points, eight boards, four assists and three steals in the win.
Despite a rough final game, Hockman was pleased looking back at his first season with the Lady Big Red.
“We have great kids here and a great community,” he stated. “The parents have been very supportive. We’re building toward big things. We can only do so much at a time, but it’s nice to look at our youth programs and see 27, 28 kids. Our kids are buying in.”