The Ashland Arrows (1-3, 1-0) battled it out with Mount Vernon (1-2, 0-1) on Dec. 2, taking a close 48-45 win led by Kennedy Lacy with 16 points.
“Mount Vernon was a battle start to finish,” said Ashland Coach Renee Holt. “We dealt with foul trouble early on from our bigs, a few shots around the rim that should have went down, and our threes were not falling, but that is when the young squad recognized that the defensive end would need to pick up in the second half to secure the win in a gym that is tough to win in.”
The game was close right from the start, with the Arrows leading the Yellow Jackets 9-8 after one quarter. Cienna Steury led the Ashland squad early with a three, while Kaitlyn Thompson scored four points for Mount Vernon.
In the second quarter both teams scored 11 points and it was a 20-19 lead for Ashland at halftime. Rees Lepley had eight points in the second quarter for Mount Vernon, and Madison Hoffman had four points for the Arrows.
The third quarter had the Arrows with a 17-15 advantage, and each team had 11 points in the fourth leading to a three point win for Ashland.
“I told Lacey in the second half that this team has not seen her full potential just yet,” said Holt. “Her attack towards the rim, and knocking down free throws was huge for us. Hoffman recognized that her outside shot was not falling and the driving lanes were open to easy layups, or a chance at the line. Just a sophomore and a freshman led the charge, along with defensive energy from (Alex) Huckleberry.
Lacy led all scorers with 16 points in the win. Hoffman had 13 points to lead all scorers, where she was 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Steury scored seven points including a three.
Mount Vernon was led by Kaitlyn Dapprich with 12 points and Lepley and Thompson each had 10 points.
“Defensive energy is what I have been preaching all year and we are getting great buy in from everyone,” Holt said. “Steury has been shooting lights out for us, Huckleberry controls our tempo and shows awesome leadership, Hoffman and Lacey have been driving to the hoop and getting to the free throw line and knocking them down. (Camryn) Cox has been a great rim protector and a vocal leader that keeps our team focused and positive.”
Previously, Ashland had suffered losses to Mansfield Senior 58-32 and Toledo Rogers 47-30.
“This team is young but willing to fight against any team they are up against,” Holt said. “Mansfield Senior is the defending OCC champs and they came ready to play to start their season. I thought our growth as a team and the confidence we need to have really grew after a competitive Tyger offensive force. Toledo Rogers came to town on Thursday with a style of play we are not familiar with. Our defense shined bright in the first half, but a few hiccups in the second half put us in a deep enough hole that was hard to crawl out of.”
This week the Arrows have away games against Loudonville (2-0, 0-0) on Dec. 5 and West Holmes (1-1, 1-0) on Dec. 9, with both games starting at 7:30 p.m.
