Williamstown Sports Report

By Wade Holland

WilliamstownSportsReport.com

 

Coming into the season with high expecations for themselves, frustration was starting to show on the faces of the Williamstown Lady Demons after winning only once in their first seven games.

 

But the Lady Demons were all smiles Monday night after taking their frustrations out on cross-town rival Grant County in a 58-54 district win in a game that saw the lead change hands 11 times.

 

But Williamstown, which led for more than 27 minutes in the see-saw battle, sealed the win by out-scoring Grant County 10-6 over the final three minutes.

 

"This game is huge for us," said an excited Williamstown coach Kasey Mason. "We've suffered some losses recently against teams we felt we should have beat and that had the girls really frustrated. I was really frustrated. But tonight all the girls showed up ready to play and I saw a lot more intensity than I had seen in past games."

 

Free throws, which has been a major problem for Williamstown all season, was once again an issue with the Lady Demons hitting only half of their attempts (15 of 30) in the game. But the Lady Demons came up big when they needed to, hitting all four of their free throw attempts in the final seconds of the game to hold off Grant Co.

 

Michaela Kennedy was the first to come up big on the free throw line, sinking a pair to put her team up by four with 15 seconds remaining. Teammate Katie Cheek then put the icing on the cake with a pair of made free throws with only four ticks remaining on the clock.

 

"Free throw shooting has been a struggle for us all season. We're probably shooting right around 40 percent from the line for the year," said the Williamstown coach. "The fact that those girls could step up and put them in is another sign of the mental toughness that the girls are starting to gain.

 

"When you want to win bad enough, you step up and hit those kind of shots," added Mason. "And these girls really wanted this win tonight."

 

Suffering through foul trouble and even some minor injuries that forced players to the sidelines, Willimstown also had to rely on bench players to step up and carry more of the load than usual. Seventh-grader Kiki Johnson obliged, hitting back-to-back shots down the stretch to break a tie and put the Lady Demons up for good. Her tie-breaking shot with 2:48 remining in the game caught the eye of her coach.

 

"I was really proud of Kiki for stepping up and taking that shot," said Mason. "I noticed in the first half she was a little hesitant. So I told her before she went in the game in the second half that we needed big things from her. I told her, you have to play like you want to win. And she did. And it was good to see such mental toughness out of such a young player."

 

Grant Co. had multiple chances to tie the game in the final minute of play, but missed shots and turnovers , combined with impressive play by Williamstown, doomed the Lady Braves.

 

Kennedy and Rachel Montgomery led Williamstown with 14 points each, followed by teammates Katie Cheek and Sammie Souder with nine apiece.

 

Grant Co. was led in scoring by Macy Wright with 19 points, though Williamstown was able to hold the Lady Braves' star to only four points in the second half.

 

Kennedy put Williamstown on the board first with a free throw 16 seconds into the game.  Katie Cheek followed with a basket to make it 3-0 in favor of the Lady Demons.

 

But Grant Co. scored the next four points to take the lead and the two teams went back and forth to the tune of six lead changes in the first quarter.

 

Williamstown, which led for most of the second quarter, enjoyed its biggest lead of the first half at seven points when Montgomery scored seven straight points, including a three pointer.

 

Grant Co. battled back and took the lead midway through the third quarter on an 8-0 run, but Williamstown quickly regained its composure and ended the quarter on a 9-2 run. But it was Kennedy's shot from near halfcourt as time expired in the third quarter that gave Williamstown a 41-38 advantage - and lots of momentum - heading into the final quarter.

 

Grant Co. was able to tie the game on one occasion in the final period, but Williamstown owned the frame and led by as many as nine before holding off a late rally by the Lady Braves.

 

GRANT CO. (54) - Macy Wright 19, Kendall Burk 12, Destiny Chaidez 8, Madisyn Ruebusch 6, E.J. Kearns 3, Tyrsten Cummins 3, Karlyn McCoy 2, Jordan Allen 1.

WILLIAMSTOWN (58) - Michaela Kennedy 14, Rachel Montgomery 14, Katie Cheek 9, Sammie Souder 9, Ashley Marksbury 8, Kiki Johnson 4.