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Shelby Springer, Taylor Stroud, Kiana Wininger

Shelby Springer -

Senators shoot past Crothersville

CROTHERSVILLE — West Washington drove a short way, but dialed it up from long distance once the game began as Tori Packwood and Shelby Springer combined to nail nine 3-pointers to lead a 67-34 girls basketball victory Thursday night at Crothersville.

The Senators sailed to a 24-8 lead after one quarter and expanded it to 43-11 by halftime.

“We had great intensity on defense tonight, and I was real proud of their effort at the defensive end in the first and second quarters,” said WW coach Wade Tomlinson. “We came out ready to play and that was real good to see.”

Packwood swished five 3-pointers and finished with 26 points and Springer added four treys and 18 points in her first complete game back from an injury.

“It was her first full game back and we have a better flow to what we’re doing when Shelby is out there,” Tomlinson said. “They played us zone early and we shot it real well.”

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Taylor Stroud - 

Cruise control

MITCHELL — The Mitchell Lady Bluejackets picked up their fourth straight win Thursday night, using another balanced attack to get past West Washington 50-37 in girls basketball action at The Hive.

The Jackets jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back, although it took them the better part of three quarters to finally push the lead to double digits over the scrappy Senators, who were without leading scorer Shelby Springer, who is out with an ankle injury.

Mitchell coach Matt Sowders, whose club improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference, was pleased with the effort and happy to see his club pick up another solid win.

“We’ve gotten off to a pretty good start here,” said Sowders. “We’ve won our first two conference games and the only game we’ve lost was to a very good BNL team.

“So we’re happy with the start, but like I told the girls, we can’t become complacent. Sometimes you start winning and you just get happy and lose your edge, and if we do that, we’ll be in trouble. So I told them to enjoy this win tonight, but we’ve got to get right back at it in practice tomorrow.”

Junior Mia Burton knocked down a jumper, then took a feed from Courtney Perkins and converted a three-point play, while sophomore Taylor Mann added a 15-footer of her own to get the Jackets off on the right foot.

The Senators got a pair of free throws from Carrie Miller to break the ice at the 4:09 mark, and the visitors proceeded to mount a 6-0 run of their own before the Jackets finished the frame with a 5-1 spurt.

West Washington hit just 2 of 12 shots from the field in the opening period, but used a 14-8 edge on the boards to keep it close.

“We struggled shooting the ball from the field, but considering we’re missing Shelby, I’m really proud of the way the girls played,” WW coach Wade Tomlinson said. “I thought we played really hard and we battled and competed. We tried to keep it close going into the fourth quarter, but it just got away from us a little bit there at the end of the third.”

Sophomore Danielle Pruett came off the Mitchell bench late in the first quarter and scored seven straight points for the Jackets, giving the home team a 14-7 advantage with a 15-foot jumper at the outset of the second period.

Burton put back a rebound to push the lead to nine, but the Senators dug in defensively and kept the Jackets in their sights, pulling back to within two on a step-back 3-pointer from Tori Packwood with 1:40 left in the half.

Packwood, who went on to hit three 3-pointers and tally 11 points for the Senators, has been a nemesis for Sowders the past three years.

“She’s burnt me in the past at Shoals,” said Sowders. “When she’s open, she’s going to hit those three-point shots. So we assigned somebody to her the entire time and we still lost her a few times. But I thought Alyssa Gardner did a nice job on her in the second half. She really stepped up her game and put a lot of pressure on her.”

Sammie Howe knocked down an 18-foot jumper and Burton drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Jackets a 27-20 lead at the half, but it wasn’t until Burton hit another trey with 3:12 left in the third that the home team finally had some breathing room.

The two teams traded 3-pointers in the final three minutes as Packwood hit back-to-back treys for the Senators, while Perkins knocked one down for the Jackets, who took a 41-30 lead into the final frame before using a 7-2 spurt to put the game away.

Burton finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Gardner added eight points and 15 boards for the Jackets, who out rebounded the Senators 42-28 on the night.

“We’re only six games into the season and we’re getting better,” said Sowders. “So I’m pretty happy with the way things are progressing. Our defense is coming along pretty nicely. The team as a whole is doing a better job of moving their feet and not reaching and grabbing. So we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”

Carrie Miller matched Packwood with 11 points for the Senators, who got six points and six rebounds from freshman Taylor Stroud in her first varsity start.

“I think we probably got a little tired, because we had to play so hard,” said Tomlinson. “But I couldn’t be any more proud of our effort. As a coach, I couldn’t ask for any more from my kids.”

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Kiana Wininger - 

Perry Central thumps Springs Valley

LEOPOLD — The Perry Central Commodores jumped on Springs Valley early and never looked back, rolling to a 74-36 girls basketball victory Thursday afternoon.

The Commodores grabbed a quick 20-4 lead and took a 41-22 advantage to the half before putting the game away with a 19-9 run in the third quarter.

Led by center Ashley Graves, who scored a team-high 28 points, the Commodores improved to 10-3 overall and 4-0 in the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference.

“We really didn’t have an answer for Graves,” Valley coach Kelly Schmitt said. “She’s a pretty phenomenal player. Not only did she score 28 points, but she rebounded well and did a really good job of getting the ball out so they could run.

“We didn’t do a very good job of getting back on defense, especially early on, and they really jumped on us.”

Lauren Goodman and Kiana Wininger tossed in 10 points apiece to lead the Hawks, who slipped to 4-7 and 0-4 in PLAC play.

“Kiana did some nice things for us offensively,” said Schmitt. “She attacked the basket really well today, and Lauren Goodman had a nice day rebounding the ball for us.”

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