MORAN — Perhaps the most surprising thing to come off of the courts Friday night was the Lady Wildcats of Marmaton Valley High, who opened their season with a rousing victory over the Uniontown Eagles, 34-21.
Following a strong defensive effort, the Wildcats held the Eagles scoreless in the third, mounting a 23-12 lead. Before the half, they were only riding a 16-12 lead over their opponent.
Opening the fourth, Mackenzie Tynon hit a pair of free throws, followed by an inside jumper from Kyla Drake, one of the two starting freshmen. Tynon followed up with another basket underneath, followed up by another 2 from Kaitlin Ensminger. Her shot capped a 21-point scoring street for the Wildcats spanning two quarters.
The Eagles’ Shalina Harper ended the streak with a score underneath. More scores from Drake and Misty Storrer kept the Lady Wildcats well in control.
“Defensively we were really good,” Head Coach Gavin Cole said of his team. Despite some opening jitters, he said the girls kept their composure in a close first half to come out strong in the second.
“We’ve been working on playing nice and calm and relaxed,” Cole said.
It showed, even after Uniontown hit its stride early in the first, with a couple quick buckets from Hannah Travis and Harper. They went up 9-5 over the Wildcats at the end of the second.
Tynon put up a shot to start the second, but Harper responded with a 3-pointer from outside. Then the Eagles went cold, as the Wildcats began their long offensive streak.
Cole had only minor adjustments for his team at the half, but whatever he suggested did the trick.
“I just told them to pack in the defense and shoot over the top,” he said. The Wildcats had some trouble handling the ball, he said, and gave up the ball too many times. But, for a season opener, those can only be counted as minor complaints.
Tynon led the scoring for the Lady Wildcats with 13 points, followed by Ensminger with nine and Drake with six.
Uniontown 9-3-0-9—21
Marmaton Valley 5-11-7-11—34
Uniontown (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Herring 1-0-1-2, Travis 2-0-2-4, Harper 2/1-0-2-7, Stokes 0-1-3-1, Wilkinson 0-0-1-0, Hathaway 1-3-4-5, Ridge 1-0-4-2. TOTALS: 7/1-4-17-21.
Marmaton Valley (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Ensminger 3-3-3-9, Pinkerton 1-0-0-2, Stevenson 0-0-1-0, Storrer 2-0-1-4, Drake 2-2-2-6, Newman 0-0-2-0, Tynon 4-5-2-13. TOTALS: 12-10-11-34.
Wildcat girls open season on right foot
