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The Parry McCluer High School girls basketball team used a pair of big second-half runs to take control in a 52-14 Pioneer District victory over Craig County in Buena Vista on Friday.
With the win, the Fighting Blues, who won at Nelson County 60-9 in nondistrict action on Monday of last week, improved to 4-0 in district play. PM would run its winning streak to six and its overall record to 11-3 with a 39-35 overtime victory over Rockbridge County at home on Saturday.
Victoria Hamilton scored 16 points to pace the Blues in Friday’s win, and Payton Emore tallied 10 points and five assists.
After struggling to convert on their chances in the first half, the Blues’ offense kicked into gear – and then some – across the final 16 minutes.
Leading 17-10 early in the third quarter, PM reeled off a 19-0 run, extending the margin to 36-10 on Kayleigh Ramsey’s fast break bucket with 2:21 remaining in the period. The Blues pulled away further with a 14-0 spurt that stretched into the final stanza.
“We attacked the basket and hit a couple of shots [in the second half], and the rim got a little bigger,” PM head coach Adam Gilbert said. “In the first half, I thought we rushed. We didn’t make the transition in terms of speed: the defense, we were uptempo, pressuring – and it was almost like we stayed in the same gear on offense, going a tick too fast on the offensive end.”
But the defense was locked in from the opening whistle. The Blues forced a whopping 41 turnovers in the game, including 10 apiece in the first and second quarters. PM also contained the Rockets’ leading scorer, freshman forward Kailyn Jones, holding her to three points and four rebounds.
“Coming in, we were trying to limit [Jones’s] touches. … I thought we did a really good job on that,” Gilbert said. “And then the guards out on the perimeter, we put a lot of pressure on them to where they couldn’t get her the ball.
“This might have been our best effort defensively all year,” the PM coach added.
Tatyana Turner provided a spark as the Blues’ offense struggled in the early-going, notching six of her eight points in the first half. After falling behind 7-4 early, PM also held Craig (4-6 overall, 1-2 district) to just one marker across the last 12 minutes of action before the break.
Hamilton posted eight markers during the 19-0 surge, and then six different players contributed to the 14-0 run.
Ramsey finished with six points for PM, while Addisen Roberts notched five assists, and Natalie Mohler pulled down a team-high four rebounds. Eight of the nine Blues on the roster scored at least one basket in the game.
“That’s huge,” Gilbert said of his team’s offensive balance. “It’s fun when you can get everybody involved, and then everybody’s looking to be aggressive. That makes you a difficult matchup, when everybody’s looking to score.”
Ashley Cayton and Daileigh Donithan scored three points apiece for Craig, which suffered its fifth consecutive defeat after a 4-1 start to the season. Gracie Huffman and Jenna Boitnotte tied for the game-high with six rebounds apiece.
PM 60, NC 9
PM cruised to a 60-9 road win over Nelson County in a nondistrict matchup last Monday.
Hamilton recorded a gamehigh 14 points to pace the Blues. Turner contributed 10 points, Ramsey had eight markers and Peira Conner added seven points for PM. Emore totaled seven points, six rebounds and five steals, and Mohler finished with five assists and five steals.
The Blues started the game on a 27-0 run, keeping the Governors (0-9) off the scoreboard until well into the second quarter. For the game, PM limited Nelson to 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) shooting from the field and caused 44 turnovers.
Hanna Rivera led the Governors with four points, while Sarah Marden and Laney Harrell each collected five rebounds.
The Blues have a pair of district home games coming up, against Narrows on Thursday and against Eastern Montgomery on Tuesday, starting with JV action at 5:30 p.m. on both nights.
