Lady Demons celebrate historical night

Lady Demons celebrate historic night with win over Owen Co.

Senior Rachel Montgomery (above) and junior Michaela Kennedy (below) receive the game ball that each scored their 1,000th point with from Williamstown Athletic Director T.J. West.

Montgomery, Kennedy surpass 1,000-point plateau in WHS win

By Wade Holland

Publisher

Thursday, December 3, 2015 is a date that will forever be remembered by the Williamstown Lady Demons and their fans.

Playing in front of a large home crowd that obviously knew something special was about to happen, the Lady Demons made history with two players joining Williamstown's prestigious 1,000-point club in a victory that gives the program it's first 2-0 start in more than 20 years.

Senior guard Rachel Montgomery and junior point guard Michaela Kennedy both surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in the win. Montgomery scored her 1,000th with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, while Kennedy hit her 1,000th with just under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Williamstown coach A.J. Mason acknowledged after the game that the exciting moments of each reaching the milestone was made even more special by the team taking care of business and winning the game in a very hard-fought battle.

"Getting the win makes it extra special," he said. "We've been stressing all week about getting the win first and let everything else just happen. But two girls scoring their 1,000th points in one game, I don't know if that's heard of."

Kennedy was the game's leading scorer with 18

points. Montgomery was her usual self, contributing in every way possible and finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds, and five steals.

But when Montgomery got into foul trouble early in the game, and Kennedy was not able to get her shots to fall, sophomore Haley Howe and freshman Justice Chambers stepped up and proved their worth with 13 points each, giving the Lady Demons four players in double digits.

"Justice Chambers and Haley Howe really carried us in the first half," said A.J. Mason. "And that was huge coming from a freshman and sophomore."

Katie Cheek, who was in the lineup for the first time after missing the season opener with an injury, was strong on both ends of the floor with five points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Olivia Souder scored two points and pulled down four rebounds.

Sydney Taylor didn't score, but played a huge roll on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, pulling down 10 rebounds while disrupting Owen's Co.'s offensive rhythm with her shot-blocking presence inside.

The game was close for the first 16 minutes with each team taking its turn as the leader, though Williamstown was able to lead by one (11-10) after one period of play and three (31-28) at the half.

But Williamstown stretched its lead to double digits in the third period and was in control by 11 points (49-38) heading into the final period when it looked like the Lady Demons were about to pull away before allowing Owen Co. to get back into the game.

"The girls never gave up," commented A.J. Mason. "We got up a few times but we let them right back in. But we kept fighting. It probably wasn't one of our best shooting nights. We expect to have better shooting nights. But they fought hard the entire game and never got discouraged, got big rebounds when they needed to, and finished plays."

The game gives Williamstown it's first 2-0 start since at least the mid 1990s, which will go a long way towards the Lady Demons reaching their goals this season.

"It's huge for our confidence," said A.J. Mason. "It's hard to remember the last time we started out 2-0. But these girls have been putting in a lot of hard work because that's what they want. They want to do well and have a good season. A goal of ours is 20 wins and we're off to a good start."

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Williamstown also won it's season opener in impressive fashion with a dominating 65-51 victory over Gallatin Co., a team that had the third best record in the region a year ago at 19-9.

Rachel Montgomery led the way for Williamstown in the win with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Next was Michaela Kennedy with 14 points and three rebounds. Haley Howe gave the Lady Demons three players in double figures with 12 points to go with three rebounds.

Sydney Taylor did damage inside with eight points and seven rebounds. Justice Chambers scored seven points. Olivia Souder scored five points and pulled down three rebounds.

Williamstown led by just one (16-15) after one quarter and held the same advantage (31-30) at the intermission. Leading by five (46-41) after three, Williamstown turned it on down the stretch and outscored the host team 19-10 over the final eight minutes.

Williamstown hit six 3-pointers in the game, two each by Howe and Kennedy, and one apiece from Montgomery and Souder.