Thursday, December 28, 2017

Shamrock Girls Back on Winning Track; Down Chilhowee in Trenton

North Harrison’s Shamrocks got back on the winning track against Chilhowee Thursday afternoon in Trenton; they led from wire to wire and got the 64-26 win. It seemed that the change of scenery did the team good; the last time they were on a stage like the one at North Central Missouri College, the Shamrocks were playing softball and they won third place at state. They matched the most points scored against Chilhowee this year; they were able to keep their turnovers down to seven and work the ball around to the open person.

The Shamrocks were looking to get more balanced scoring; most of their games have had Payton Craig and Brandy Rivet scoring most of the points. Both got their points Thursday, but they got a lot more contributions from everyone else. Emma Craig matched a career high with 16; she was much more confident getting to the rim and getting on the line. Carly Rinehart, a freshman, knocked down a couple of three-pointers. Seven different Shamrocks got into the scoring column.

For Chilhowee, they were a young team looking to play some tough opponents at Trenton; they have a pair of weapons in shooter Jacqueline Guinn and a promising freshman in Eliana Lynn, who showed a knack for jumping passes. They got their wish as they were drilled 64-11 by North Andrew the day before. They’ve already improved on last year’s record, as they won one game and were held to two points in a 64-2 loss at the beginning of last year. They’ve won two games this year so far.

Chilhowee tried to stop Payton Craig, to no avail. They were surrounding her every time she tried to drive, fouling her hard every time she tried to put it up, and trying to make life difficult. It didn’t work as she dumped off 10 assists, matching her high from the Newtown-Harris game and making everyone around her better. She frequently found sister Emma open in the paint.

The Indians controlled the opening tip, but nothing else went right for them in the first quarter. Addie Slaughter grabbed an errant Indian pass and threw it to Payton Craig for a layup to start the scoring. Craig hit Carly Rinehart for a triple, then Addie Slaughter passed one out of the high post to Craig for three to make it 8-0.

Guinn’s putback put Chilhowee on the board, but Payton Craig found Emma inside and then added three free throws off two steals to get the lead into double digits. Payton found Emma inside gain to make it 15-2. Miranda Heaper hit a 3-pointer for Chilhowee, but Ashlynn Gilpatrick hit Payton for a drive with time winding down, and she hit a free throw to make it 16-5 after one.

Emma Craig owned the paint in the second quarter as North Harrison continued to pull away, getting eight in the period. Payton Craig hit her in the high post, and she knocked down a contested look with 7:40 left. Payton knocked down two free throws, then got a steal and fed Emma to make it 22-5. Guinn knocked down a 3-pointer for Chilhowee, but Brandy Rivet hit Payton Craig inside and Ashlynn Gilpatrick hit Brandy Rivet for a 3-pointer as she began to get untracked to make it 27-8.

Guinn tried to counter for her team, but Payton made a diving grab of an offensive board and got it to Addie Slaughter for a 2nd chance point; Olivia Babinski hit Emma Craig inside, Craig knocked down two free throws, and Brandy Rivet jumped a pass and got to the line for a free throw to make it 34-10 before Elaina Lynn scored a couple of times against the reserves to make it 34-14 at halftime.

North Harrison used a 21 point third quarter to push the game into running clock territory. Payton Craig hit Emma inside and then Carly Rinehart for three from the wing to start the period. Heaper threw up a runner for Chilhowee, but Payton Craig hit two free throws after grabbing an offensive board, Emma got a putback, Mason Cracraft hit Brandy Rivet for three after grabbing an offensive board in traffic, Brandy Rivet hit Payton Craig for a drive and three point play, and Rivet scored off a steal to make it 51-16 at the 3:59 mark of the third.

Guinn and Lynn got going to bring Chilhowee to within 55-23 after three, but then Payton Craig got a pass from Olivia Babinski and got a drive, Rivet got Craig a quick outlet and she went coast to coast with it, Payton Craig got the ball in the paint, drew a bunch of red shirts, and dropped it off to Kami Gibson for a layup, and kicked one out to Olivia Babinski for a jumper to give North Harrison its biggest lead of 62-23 at the 5:13 mark.

For North Harrison, Payton Craig had 23, Emma Craig 16, Brandy Rivet 9, Carly Rinehart 6, Addie Slaughter and Olivia Babinski 4, and Kami Gibson 2.

Olivia Babinski had 2 blocks for North Harrison, Payton Craig and Brandy Rivet had 1 each.

Payton Craig and Emma Craig each had 6 boards. Addie Slaughter and Mason Cracraft had 4 each, Brandy Rivet 3, Carly Rinehart and Kami Gibson 2 each, and Rainey Fordyce and Olivia Babinski 1.

Payton Craig had 10 assists to lead North Harrison. Brandy Rivet and Olivia Babinski had 3, Addie Slaughter and Ashlynn Gilpatrick had 2 each, and Mason Cracraft had 1.

Payton Craig had 8 tips, while Emma Craig and Brandy Rivet had 4, Rainey Fordyce had 2, and Mason Cracraft and Carly Rinehart had 1 each.

Payton Craig had 5 steals. Emma Craig had 4, Carly Rinehart and Brandy Rivet had 3, Olivia Babinski had 2, and Addie Slaughter had 1.

The boys were not as fortunate as they continued their brutal stretch, this time falling 76-41 to Southwest Livingston. Transition defense was their Achilles Heel this game as the Wildcats were able to run their transition game at will, getting one easy layup after another. North Harrison had a chance to get back in the game late in the quarter, but saw one shot after another go in and out as the Wildcats led 22-4 after one quarter.

The Shamrocks finally started to get going offensively, but Wyatt Maddux, left all alone, found plenty to do along with skyscraper Mack Anderson. Maddux ran wild in the second quarter with 11 points as Southwest Livingston, coached by former NEN skipper Eric Fairchild, pushed out to a 40-17 halftime lead.

Steven Willhite tried to put the Shamrocks on his back in the third, scoring 10 in the frame, but the Wildcats continued to outscore North Harrison, 19-16 to lead 59-33. The bottom dropped out in the fourth as Livingston started off on an 8-0 run, capped by Mack Anderson’s breakaway dunk.

Anderson had 24 points for his squad as North Harrison didn’t have an answer for him.

Logan Craig led the scoring with 13 points for the Shamrocks. Steven Willhite had 10, Logan Huitt 6, Collin Castleberry and Collin Briggs had 4 each, and Gavin Garrett and Brett Emig had 2 each.

Steven Willhite had 3 blocks, while Collin Briggs and Logan Craig had 1 each.

Logan Craig and Steven Willhite had 9 boards each. Logan Huitt had 3, Brett Emig and Collin Castleberry had 2 each, and Gavin Garrett had 1.

Collin Castleberry had 4 assists for the Shamrocks. Gavin Garrett had 2, while Logan Craig, Brett Emig, and Logan Huitt had 1 each.

Logan Craig, Brett Emig, and Collin Castleberry had 2 tips each. Collin Briggs, Gavin Garrett, Logan Huitt, and Samuel Mejia had 1 each.

Logan Craig had 2 steals, while Steven Willhite, Gavin Garrett, Brett Emig, and Logan Huitt had 1 each.

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