Magnet Cove too much for Mountain Pine girls

MOUNTAIN PINE — A combination of good ball movement, pressure defense and solid shooting led Magnet Cove to a 60-14 win over Mountain Pine Friday at Red Devil Fieldhouse.

Magnet Cove (4-5, 1-1 2A-7) cruised out to a 30-6 halftime lead, and Lady Panthers senior Zoee Rednour opened the second half with a score in the paint while classmate Kassidy Gray followed up with the layup after going coast-to-coast to extend the lead to 28.

“I think they played harder than we did,” said first-year Mountain Pine head coach Blevin Boyd. “We did some things right. When we would get the ball down the court and run our stuff we were fine. But we got shook up with the pressure they put on the ball, and they shot it exceptionally well. They shot it real well, and we were not big enough shooters like we should have (been). That was a big diffence right there.”

Anastacia Glasco answered for the Lady Red Devils (0-5, 0-2

2A-7) by driving hard inside for the basket in attempt to stay in the game. Magnet Cove’s exceptional shooting performance on the night continued, however, as senior Karsen Davis downed her fourth 3-pointer of the game coming upon 5 minutes for a

38-11 buffer.

Lady Panthers senior Brianna Ramthun got in on the long

range action next by nailing a trey off a pass from Davis. She connected again with 40 seconds on the clock, and Gray squeezed in one more as time expired for a 49-14 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

The Lady Panthers maintained their control of the ballgame in the fourth as Rednour led off with a score in the paint, followed shortly after with a trey off the bank, to go on to the big win.

We finally started moving the ball a little bit quicker,” said Lady Panthers head coach Matt Williamson following the game. “Our defense was a little lax early, and I thought we really got after it defensively beginning middle of the first quarter. And then offense was the same thing; we were just kind of lax and didn’t come out assertive, really. We had a we-don’t-wantto-be-here type of look on our face, but after we started doing that and started knocking down some shots, then we started playing really well.”

Boyd noted that Magnet Cove’s full-court press and the turnovers it caused was also a key factor in their loss.

“It was pretty big,” he said. “Our girls have struggled with some pressure, but as long as we slow it down and kind of let it come to us, we’re fine. But their pressure was pretty good. They’re well- coached, and in the right spots, and it played right into what they wanted us to do.”

Upon controlling the opening tip, Magnet Cove’s Karsen Davis nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing. Davis drained a second trey from the same spot next time down floor to lay first claim on the momentum. Leading 6-0, Davis kept the momentum flowing as she sank yet another from downtown with 3:20 left in the first frame.

Anastacia Glasco helped get the Lady Red Devils on the scoreboard for the first time Friday night by finding teammate Kaleigh Walker in transition for the bucket inside. The Lady Panthers answered with their fourth trey of the quarter, this time, from Rednour with 54 seconds on the clock. Davis secured the 14-2 Magnet Cove advantage of the first with a bucket inside in the finals seconds.

Senior Kassidy Gray kept things going for the Lady Panthers heading into the second with the foul and bucket on the opening possession. Following back- to- back treys from Rednour, Magnet Cove led 24-4 at just under 4 minutes left in the half.

Gray led Magnet Cove with

18 points, four steals and two rebounds. Davis and Rednour each finished with 16 points as Davis added two rebounds, two steals and an assist while Rednour tallied one steal and three rebounds. Ramthun had 8 points and a steal while Haylie Helton had 2 points, three steals, two rebounds and a block.

Hannah Chambers led Mountain Pine with 7 points, three rebounds and two steals. Glasco, Kalariya McDaniel and Kaleigh Walker finished with

2 points apiece, with McDaniel adding four rebounds and a steal, and Glasco two rebounds along with an assist and steal.