Four Elks scored in double figures Thursday night en route to the a 63-54 victory at Centerville High School.
Alexis Hutchison, Sam Chable and Jasmine Broner scored 11 points each, while Kelsey George scored 10. Guard Amy Velasco and center Meghan Mattingly had one combined field goal but scored 14 points, going 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.
“They have a lot of scorers and it seems like they all can shoot the basketball,” Kenton Ridge coach Matt McCurdy said. “When you have seven girls who average six to 10 points per game, when you’ve got that many girls who can do that — they’re a tough out.”
The Division II Cougars opened the game in good shape behind Morris’ nine-point first quarter. The effort gave Kenton Ridge a 17-14 lead going into the second quarter.
But mistakes plagued Kenton Ridge in the second and third periods, resulting in 15 turnovers. Centerville took a four-point lead into halftime, and built that into a 13-point lead entering the fourth that would never seriously be threatened.
“We knew coming in they would pressure us … and we didn’t handle it well during that stretch,” McCurdy said.
Centerville had been averaging about 12 takeaways per game.
“That’s the style we want to play and I thought we did a good job, especially in the second half,” Priefer said.
McCurdy credited Morris with helping Kenton Ridge stay within single digits as the 6-foot-2 junior scored 16 points in the second half.
Morris was three points off her season high of 32, which she’s recorded twice. She’s scored 21 or more in seven of the Cougars’ nine games. Morris entered averaging 23.5 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Central Buckeye Conference.
“She’s a very good player and we had a hard time guarding her,” Priefer said. “She did a nice job of taking her opportunities, and she played a good game.
Desiree Jones and Mariah Baker each scored nine points for the Cougars.
The Elks climbed back up to .500 (6-6).
“’It’s very good [to get back to .500]. It’s better than being 0-12,” Priefer said. “I think our kids have grown a lot and we just have to continue to work at it and get better.”
The Cougars fell to 5-4 but McCurdy was encouraged by a performance that saw his team take a lead and fight to stay in the contest despite its own errors.
“We’re a young team, we only have one senior and it’s a learning experience for us,” he said. “ We slowed down and handled it well after [falling behind in the third quarter], it just took some time.”
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