Sports
Lady Spartans Pull Away Late To Spoil N-Y’s Senior Night
By: Abbey Kay
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A big crowd came out for the Nelsonville-York Lady Buckeyes Senior Night matchup against the Alexander Lady Spartans. The Lady Spartans lead by Rachel Richardson, Jadyn Mace and Mallory Rankin won this game 58-47.
We saw a squad of Spartans ready to fight from tip-off to final buzzer this game. Coach Jeff Grinstead has said throughout the season that his team typically comes out to a rocky start. That certainly was not the case for this game as Mallory Rankin sunk a three-pointer right off the bat and kicked off a 10-point unanswered run for the Lady Spartans in the first two and a half minutes.
Quarter one ended up being their best quarter of the night ending with 21 points and holding the Lady Buckeyes to just nine.
The Lady Buckeyes made good adjustments on the sideline and in the locker room but it wasn’t enough to stop Richardson who finished with 18 points, and Mace and Rankin with 12 points apiece.
In the final minutes, Kristin Taylor, Kena Rice, Mace and Richardson made seven of eight free throws when the pressure was on.
This game had potential to be historic for Lady Buckeye senior Jessie Addis who came into the matchup needing 22 points to set the all-time scoring record for Nelsonville-York high school – for both the boys and girls teams.
Grinstead set up a conditioned defense against Addis by double-teaming her the whole night and keeping her from setting a new record. Addis scored 19 points leaving her just three points away from this milestone.
Addis will have another chance to make N-Y history on Thursday night against Crooksville at Jackson High School. The Lady Spartans will play again on Saturday at home against Lynchburg High School