Sports
Meigs Downs Wellston 48-40 In TVC-Ohio Matchup
By: Michael Drapcho
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The score differential remained similar throughout most of the game, but it was a tale of two halves for the individual Lady Marauders as Meigs (2-0) beat Wellston (1-1) 48-40 to grab their first TVC-Ohio win after going 0-10 in the division last season.
Tri-Valley Conference standout Kelsey Hudson shot just 30 percent in the first half, but played more efficiently in the second. After going one-of-five from behind the arc, she changed her shot selection attempting just one more in the remaining 16 minutes.
In the final minutes during the Lady Golden Rockets’ comeback attempt, Hudson was four-of-five from the free-throw line. Coach Amber Ridenour is using Hudson’s versatility to switch things up this year.
“We’ve been trying to move Kelsey in different positions because we want her to play in some other positions,” she said. This change of play was noticeable in the second half when Hudson crashed the boards with four of her five rebounds coming in the second half, three of which were on the offensive end.
Wellston’s top scorer, Lexi Hopkins, dropped 16 second half points and led all scorers with 22. Even though she continued to struggle with 3-pointers, Hopkins found more opportunities in the paint where the Meigs defense struggled.
Wellston came alive in the fourth quarter. The Lady Golden Rockets began to press Meigs, creating urgency within the Marauders’ offense. After going zero-of-14 through the first three and a half quarters of the game, Hopkins knocked a shot down from the corner sending the Lady Golden Rockets’ cheering section into an uproar. The Golden Rockets drew fouls and looked like the commanding team.
Then with just under two minutes remaining in play, the Lady Marauders found poise and broke the press with ease, avoiding the intentional fouls and pulling ahead.
Despite an extremely low shooting percentage from deep, the Lady Golden Rockets stayed competitive. They found girls in the post who could easily turn and lay the ball in. The Lady Marauders defense in the paint is something that could hurt them in the future.
Meigs got into foul trouble and sent Wellston players to the line on twelve occasions. The Lady Golden Rockets did not take advantage however, shooting just 52 percent.
If Wellston had better execution, or preferably shot selection, Meigs could have easily been the team coming from behind.
One of the players that stepped up during Hudson’s slow start was Haiden English. She made an immediate impact coming off the bench. English used her speed and aggressive play to keep possessions alive and create new ones.
In the second half, English failed to contribute as much with buckets, but continued to distribute the ball with powerful passes.
Passing was an issue for the Lady Marauders late in the game, and was a big part of the lack of composure they had through most of the fourth quarter.
Also stepping up was Devin Humphreys, who had six rebounds and shot three-of-five from the field in the first half. She was the only Lady Marauder with an offensive presence down low for the first half. In the second half, Hannah Cremeans had the down low presence for Meigs with five second half rebounds.
Meigs (2-0) travels to River Valley (0-2) on Dec. 11.