Lady Colts push past struggling Lady Bears to build momentum for tournament run
WARSAW − To say the first half of the season has been disappointing for the Meadowbrook High girls basketball team and head coach Chris Miles would be an understatement.
Coming off some success in the OHSAA postseason along with a 15-9 record last season, Miles and the Lady Colts were expecting a big follow-up campaign this year.
Instead, it proved to be a rocky first half of the season for Meadowbrook, which saw them enter the holiday break with a surprising 2-6 mark.
But the Lady Colts continue to grind in an attempt to turn things around and on Wednesday made it a perfect 2-for-2 to start 2024 and improve to 4-6 with a 52-35 Muskingum Valley League road win over host River View.
Colts not ready to throw in the towel on season
"We have faced some adversity this year, but we are a pretty good 4-6 basketball team," Miles said. "I really believe that, and we have plenty of film to use to get back into the gym tomorrow and continue to work to get better."
"If we were losing some games, or playing some close games and we were not showing improvement, that would be scary for me," Miles added. "But our growth opportunity between now and the tournament is huge. I've got smart kids who realize that and are willing to put in that work."
One area of improvement for the Lady Colts has been in the shooting department, according to Miles.
"We are starting to shoot the ball much better," Miles said. "We really struggled with our shooting early in the year which made it tough. We were playing some good teams like Carrollton and Tri-Valley. And makes it tough to stay with them if you can't knock down shots."
More: Wednesday roundup: New Lex point guard has huge night; Coshocton boys hold on
During Wednesday's victory over the Lady Bears, Meadowbrook knocked down a total of eight triples with senior Taylor Sichina and junior Emma Webster leading the way with three each. Webster finished with a team-high 14 points, with Sichina adding 11 markers.
Senior Kenli Norman chipped in with 11 points with a 3-pointer, with junior Marabelle Thornberry contributing seven points for the winners.
"Taylor is a fantastic flare 3-point shooter, we run a lot of flare screens to get her good looks. And tonight she was deadly with that shot," Miles continued. "And Emma is a tough matchup for people with the way she can hit the 3-pointer. We probably shot around 40 percent from 3-point line tonight, and when are knocking down shots we are a pretty good team.
River View starts well, but fades quickly
River View's lone bright spot on the night was a strong first quarter effort, trailing by a slim 12-10 margin heading to the second stanza.
Junior Annie Killiany led the struggling Lady Bears (1-12, 1-8 MVL) with four points in the frame, and finished with a team-high 13 to lead River View. Sophomore Elaina Brenley and senior Jana Pallares each finished with seven markers in the loss.
Meadowbrook pulled away for good in the early stages of the second quarter with a 14-0 run to push the lead out to 26-10 with a layup from Norman at the 4:49 mark.
Next Games
Both teams return to action on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. with Meadowbrook hosting Maysville, while River View travels to Crooksville.
KSutton1@gannett.com; X: @KSuttonDJSports; Instagram: kevinsutton_dailyjeffsports
This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Meadowbrook ready to make final push to make OHSAA tournament run
