Merryville extends win streak to 11
Published 4:45 pm Wednesday, January 27, 2021
- Photo Credit
Rodrick Anderson
MERRYVILLE — Elton cut Merryville’s lead to two points in the closing seconds, but the Panthers held on to win 49-43 Tuesday evening to take a two-game lead in the District 4-1A race.
“It is nice, but like I tell them, ‘One game at a time,'” Merryville head coach Stormy Fortenberry said. “We take this one game at a time every opponent. Every game counts.”
The win extended Merryville’s (20-2, 9-0) win streak to 11 games, while Elton’s (6-8, 5-2) five-game win streak came to a halt.
Elton senior guard Nya Francis made it a two-possession game twice in the fourth quarter. She stole the ball and scored on a layup with 1:48 left to cut Merryville’s lead to 43-39.
Francis inbounded the ball to senior center Vici Woods with 41 seconds left, and Woods powered her way through two defenders to cut the Panthers’ lead to 45-43.
But Merryville quickly scored four points on a layup by senior Kaylie Lewis and a pair of free throws by senior Maddie Mahfouz to hold off the Indians.
Merryville struggled offensively in the second half but was able to use its defense to force Elton into seven turnovers in the fourth quarter. Merryville made six shots in the second half under pressure from the Indians, shooting 19.4 percent.
“I attribute it to our defense,” Fortenberry said. “In the second half, we kind of went flat as far as scoring, so I think our defense is what helped us win that game.
“We were being smart about making our shots, making decent passes and protecting the ball whenever they started pressuring.
“This particular one was a little slower than our style, but I attribute that to not making baskets and not being able to speed up our tempo. I think we do better if we are scoring then jumping into our defense.”
Elton started the game with a pair of baskets by Woods and Mariah Lemoine for a 4-0 lead. Woods finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season.
Merryville used a 5-0 run to take its first lead, 5-4, with 5:30 left in the first quarter on a jumper by Lewis and a 3-pointer by Ariana Victor, who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Merryville took its largest lead of the game, 28-18, with 11 seconds left in the first half on a bucket in the lane by junior Kailee Hickman on a pass from Mahfouz. Hickman scored six points in the second quarter and finished with 11.
Girls
District 4-1A
Merryville 49
Elton 43
Elton (6-8, 5-2): Vici Woods 24. Merryville (20-2, 9-0): Maddie Mahfouz 16, Ariana Victor 12, Kailee Hickman 11.
Notes: Woods (16 rebounds) and Victor (10 rebounds) had double-doubles.
Rodrick Anderson/American Press
Rodrick Anderson/American Press
