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McLouth girls rebound from season-opening loss to Wathena

By Shawn Linenberger - | Dec 13, 2006

The McLouth High girls basketball team bolted into the win column last week with a 43-28 win against Jackson Heights.

The Bulldogs held Jackson Heights to just nine points in the first half, including three in the second quarter. McLouth led at halftime, 24-9, the same margin at the end of the game.

MHS coach Keith Miller said his team responded well after a season-opening loss to Wathena. McLouth trailed that game, 25-2, in the first quarter, but played better as the game progressed.

“The last three quarters of the Wathena game, we felt really good about how we played,” Miller said. “Wathena ended up getting third in the preseason tournament.”

Against Jackson Heights, it was McLouth that got off to a fast start.

“The girls saw that they could play well and gained a lot of confidence from that,” Miller said. “I was really pleased with the way we played against Jackson Heights.”

McLouth then played Troy, but couldn’t continue its recent momentum.

The Bulldogs trailed, 11-7, after the first quarter, but the Trojans outscored the Bulldogs 15-7, in the second quarter and held a 26-14 halftime lead. MHS matched Troy’s point total in the second half, but couldn’t overcome that second quarter.

“The second quarter killed us,” Miller said. “We came out and played them man-to-man. They did some things we hadn’t seen before. We had some trouble adjusting to that.”

A bright spot for McLouth has been freshman Missy Rome, who scored 15 against Jackson Heights and 17 against Troy.
“Missy took over for us at point guard and she’s done a really good job,” Miller said. “That’s a hard job for a freshman. She’s going to have her ups and downs because she’s a freshman. The last two game she’s done really well.”
McLouth played Maranatha on Tuesday in Shawnee and will finish the 2006 schedule with a make-up game Monday against St. Mary’s in McLouth.

MCLOUTH 43, JACKSON HEIGHTS 28
Score by quarters
McLouth 12 12 8 9 — 43
Jackson Heights 6 3 10 9 — 28

Individual scoring
MHS (1-1) — Thompson, 10, Rome 15, Farris 6, Shufflebarger 10, Holwick 2. Three-point goal: Rome, 1.
Jackson Heights (0-2) — Bell 2, Bacon 8, Patterson 1, Messer 7, Long 1, Henry 2, Dusart 2, Tanking 5. Three-point goals: none.

TROY 43, MCLOUTH 31
Score by quarters
McLouth 7 7 9 8 — 31
Troy 11 15 9 8 — 43

Individual scoring
MHS (1-2) — Thompson 5, Annis 3, Farris 4, Shufflebarger 2, Rome 17.
Troy (1-2) — Sutton 9, Turpin 7, Johnson 4, Masters 11, Morgan 2, Franken 2, Fenley 8.