Minford defeats Northwest, 49-33

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MINFORD – It took a while for Scott Caudill’s Minford Lady Falcons to find their groove Monday night, but once they started clicking, they took over their game against SOC foe, the Northwest Lady Mohawks. The Lady Falcons had some trouble starting the game like Caudill likes to see his squad perform, but were able to adjust and pick up a win at home.

After giving up two quick scores to the Lady Mohawks, and then trailing throught the bulk of the first quarter, and through half of the second quarter, the Minford Lady Falcons rallied to defeat Northwest, 49-33.

“We didn’t have a very good shooting night, and we didn’t execute our offense very well,” Caudill said. “But, we played hard.”

Northwest jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first minute of the game, and used that momentum to control the majority of the first quarter. Alexis Lisath started it off with a jumper, and then was followed by Josee Osborn, who hit two free throws.

The Lady Mohawks were controlling the game in the opening minutes, and only lost the lead to Minford in the first quarter for a brief amount of time.

Northwest took a lot of free throws in the first quarter, and only missed one, converting seven of their eight attempts. As a result, the Lady Mohawks were able to gain a five point lead on Minford with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.

Minford’s Marissa Watters would bring her team right back to within a single basket of the Lady Mohawks, 11-9, as she hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer to end the first quarter.

Abby Baer started the second quarter for Northwest, picking up a quick score. With a four point lead, Northwest looked like it may continue to control the game, but Minford had other plans.

Both teams shared a few possessions without much changing, but the Lady Falcons would eventually tie the game, 13-13, after Erin Daniels hit a pair of free throws. About a minute later, Emma Shepherd gave Minford it’s second lead of the night, 15-13, one it would never relinquish.

By the half, Minford increased it’s lead to nine points, 25-16.

“Erin Daniels came in that second quarter and just really turned it on and really started attacking the basket well,” Caudill said. “She flashed the middle for us, quite a bit, and penetrated the basket very well for us tonight.”

Daniels finished the night with 15 points against Northwest, leading the Lady Falcons. She scored 11 of her 15 points in the second quarter, by far her best offensive production of the game.

The Northwest zone defense caused several problems for the Minford offense during the first part of the game. The zone defense, which Minford had not seen a lot of this season caused some issues for outside shots by Minford. In the second half, Caudill to made some adjustments with his squad.

“We weren’t hitting shots very well,” said Caudill. “So we were really trying to penetrate, and trying to flash the middle. They never came out of their zone.”

As a result, Minford was successful with continuing to maintain and increase their lead. At the end of the third quarter, Minford led 38-23, and continued to hold their lead until the final buzzer, when they defeated the Lady Mohawks, 49-33.

Northwest will attempt to redeem their loss Monday by traveling to West Portsmouth on Thursday evening, to take on the Portsmouth West Lady Senators. Tipoff is set for about 7:30 p.m.

Minford will have a big test on Thursday, as they travel to Wheelersburg to take on the Lady Pirates. The Pirates have a ton of momentum going into Thursday’s SOC matchup against Minford, as they knocked off the South Webster Lady Jeeps.

“We’re excited for it,” Caudill said. “It’s always exciting to play such a good team like Wheelersburg, and that’s really what playing sports is all about. We respect them, and think they are a fantastic team, but we certainly want to come in and get a win Thursday.”

Tipoff for Minford versus Wheelersburg is set for around 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Wheelersburg High School.

Box Score

1 2 3 4 Final
Minford 9 17 12 11 49
Northwest 11 4 8 10 33

Individual Statistics

Minford – Daniels 4-7-15, Grasso 5-0-10, Risner 2-0-5, Watters 1-1-4, Blankenship 2-0-4, Puckett 1-1-3, Hammond 1-0-3, Doll 1-0-3, Shepherd 1-0-2

Northwest – Osborn 3-5-11, Swavel 2-1-5, Breech 1-2-5, Lisath 2-0-4, Patty 2-0-4, Baer 1-0-2, Lewis 1-0-2

Three-point field goals – Minford 4 (Risner, Hammond, Watters, Doll) Northwest 1 (Breech)

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By Michael Hamilton [email protected]

Reach Michael Hamilton at 740-353-3101, ext 1931, or on Twitter @MikeHamilton82.

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