McCracken County traveled to Murray High and captured their second straight win by over a 40-point margin Tuesday night, a true collective effort from inside and outside the arc to clinch the 69-26 victory over the Lady Tigers.
“We were a lot more relaxed offensively,” head coach Scott Sivills said following the win. “Those kids are playing with confidence, so that really helps us going towards the postseason. That’s our goal going forward, just keep getting better everyday.”
After their historic shooting performance with 15 made threes against St. Mary on Monday, the Lady Mustangs cooled off slightly, but still had eight triples in this contest against Murray. Three Lady Mustangs netted a pair, Skater Houser, who nailed seven the night before, Ella Shelbourne, and Arri Brison with a pair on consecutive possessions in the second quarter. Coach Sivills said he wants this team to be feared from behind the arc, hoping to establish their identity as a dangerous shooting team.
“Yes!” Sivills proudly said about establishing this team’s identity as sharpshooters. “That’s the thing, we have had games this year that we’ve lost but should’ve won if we make those open shots. As the season’s gone on, we’ve gotten a lot better.”
Ava Hughes’ nine-point first quarter helped McCracken get out to an early advantage, which they held the entire game. Hughes finished with a team-high 13 points, Reagan Hill a perfect 5-5 behind her with 12, and Abby Casebier with eight. These three headlined 11 different Lady Mustangs to find the bottom of the net. The collective effort has been a common theme, as McCracken picks up yet another game with double-digit scorers.
Already down, the Lady Tigers struggled to score in the second half. They netted just six points in the third and three in the fourth, and have now scored 26 points in two consecutive games. Mayla Smith led the effort with 11, Addison Neal the other main contributor with eight.
With just four games left in the regular season, McCracken finishes out this week with games against Carlisle County on Thursday and Graves County on Friday. With the Second District already locked up, these last few games are a perfect opportunity to gain some momentum and fine tune their skills to head into the playoffs on a high note.
Murray High will play the last four games of their season on the road, their next being this Friday against Christian County. Then they take the weekend off and face the Lady Bulldogs from Fulton City on Monday.