Huge 3rd-quarter surge jumpstarts Lady Muskies to MVL win
NEW CONCORD − Saturday's Muskingum Valley League matchup featured a pair of teams tied for the runner up slot of the Big School Division with John Glenn welcoming Philo into 'The Tank' for an early season showdown.
Both the Lady Muskies and Lady Electrics entered play with identical 3-1 league marks behind first place Sheridan's perfect 4-0 mark.
Following a sluggish first half by both squads, the host Lady Muskies caught fire in the third quarter to take control en route to a 56-25 victory.
"We tried to adjust in that third quarter and get the game into a more up-and-down-the-floor mode, speed up the tempo," JG head coach Gary Sigman said. "Coach Hilty did a good job in the first half of slowing things down on us and making it a half-court game."
"I think we did a great job of pushing the ball in that third quarter," Sigman added. "And Mya (Oliver) got going a little bit, Riley (Zamensky) got going a little bit during that quarter. Overall just a real team effort, got the flow of the game where we wanted it to be."
Philo game plan falls apart in decisive third quarter
Philo's game plan was indeed to slow the Lady Muskies down and force them into a half-court game, and that strategy proved to be effective in the first half. John Glenn held a slim 13-11 lead at halftime following the low-scoring first half of action.
But things quickly headed south for the visitors as the third quarter got underway as the Lady Muskies amped up the tempo.
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"We had a game plan coming in of trying to slow it down, and it was right where we wanted it to be at halftime," Philo head coach Dan Hilty said. "But John Glenn is a well-coached ball club with a lot of good athletes. They came out and were able to push the pace in the second half, especially in that third quarter."
Said Hilty, "They are a really good team that played in the regionals last year, so we are going to take this as a learning opportunity, Our program is taking a lot of positive steps in the right direction, so we are going to learn from today and get back into the gym and get better."
Senior Bailey Dement paced Philo (6-2, 3-2 MVL) with a 10-point effort, with junior Bri Wolfe adding seven. Junior Aleigha Busse and senior Olivia Winland each finished with four points.
Lady Muskies' dynamic 1-2 junior duo lead third-quarter surge
John Glenn's junior one-two scoring punch of Mya Oliver and Riley Zamensky led the Lady Muskies' huge 20-6 third quarter scoring edge to push its lead out to 33-17 entering the fourth quarter.
Oliver tallied seven points in the frame, while running mate Zamensky added six markers to pace the Lady Muskies' decisive surge to take control.
"Those two are pretty tough to hold down when they can push the ball like that," Sigman said. "They are both very quick and very athletic players, and I think the rest of our girls are very unselfish and look to get them the ball in those situations.
"We are just focused on getting better each and every day," the John Glenn head coach added. "And that's really what we are trying to do every time out. Today, I think we did a nice job of being able to adjust to what Philo was trying to do to us. So that's a real positive step forward for us."
Zamensky finished with a game-high 21 points to pace the Lady Muskies (5-1, 4-1 MVL), with Oliver right behind with a 19-point effort. Senior Madeline Winland chipped in with five points for the winners.
Next Games
John Glenn will host Tri Valley on Wednesday, while Philo will play host to Sheridan with 7:30 p.m. start times at both sites.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Lady Muskies roll past Lady Electrics with commanding 3rd-quarter effort
