Lanesville unable to survive battle of runs

In a game of back-and-forth spurts, a 9-0 West Washington run to start the final quarter was enough to land the visiting Lady Senators a 61-56 victory over Lanesville in girls’ basketball Monday.
‘A couple minor things in this game, it could have gone the other way,’ said Lanesville’s first-year coach Madeline Richards.
Lanesville closed the third quarter with a flurry of points. When trailing 29-24, the Lady Eagles amped up the pressure, forcing nine Lady Senator turnovers. After Caryn Eisert had an offensive put-back, Kayla Smith knocked down one of her five 3-pointers to tie the game.
Ashley Schoen gave the Lady Eagles the lead when she put in back-to-back field goals. The latter came when she stole a ball on defense then went coast to coast for the layup.
Inside the final 40 seconds, Lanesville added five more points. Smith knocked down another trey off an inbounds play, followed later by picking up a loose ball to score a put-back. The run gave Lanesville a 38-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
‘I was happy with our ball movement on offense,’ Richards said. ‘We were able to move the ball into the paint and get some good shots. The girls did a good job taking information from the bench and taking it to the court, but we still need to work on rebounding, because it hurt us.’
In the fourth quarter, Lanesville had trouble keeping its opponent off the free-throw line. The 9-0 that started the fourth quarter, was keyed by West Washington’s Shelby Springer. She hit all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt; she followed that with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
The run gave West Washington a 42-38 lead. Lanesville tied the game with points from Brooklynn Keinsley and Smith, but West Washington fought back. Springer hit a pair of free throws and later buried a 3-point bucket. The scores were part of a run that gave West Washington a 51-42 lead with 2:30 to play.
‘It was tough on us to defend someone with the ability to take us off the dribble as well as Springer did,’ Richards said. ‘We still need to work on some read-and-react situations on the defensive end.’
Lanesville didn’t go quietly. Three-pointers from Smith, along with Schoen field goals, allowed for a comeback. With less than 30 seconds to play, Smith swished a long ball to cut the West Washington lead to three, 59-56. The Lady Senators, however, hit two free throws with 13.9 seconds left to ice the game.
‘Kayla stepped up for us and hit some big shots,’ Richards said. ‘Those were instances late where we took a play from the bench to the floor and executed. She knocked down some good shots, but it started with the other girls getting in position. It also stemmed from not giving up. We worked until the end, and we showed we were still knocking on the door late.’
Smith finished with 24 points and six rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles. Schoen also reached double figures with 12 points, while Keinsley chipped in five points.
Springer led West Washington with 24 points, going 17 of 19 at the foul line.
Richards said the Lady Eagles performed much better Monday than Saturday’s outing versus Salem, which was a lopsided loss.
‘Overall, we played much better than our first game,’ she said. ‘I didn’t have a chance to practice with them since then. Saturday, we struggled with taking care of the basketball. But we improved greatly with being stronger with the basketball, but we still have a way to go. We had better placement of where we were supposed to be. We are working, and we’re going to get there.’
Lanesville will spend the next five games on the road. The Lady Eagles will look for their first win tomorrow (Thursday), when they travel to Christian Academy of Indiana in New Albany for a 7:30 p.m. tip.
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