MORAN — The first five minutes of the Lady Wildcats’ matchup Friday night gave the impression that the game would be a fight to the finish.
That ended when Pleasanton put on its full-court press.
Marmaton Valley High went up early against their opponent for their homecoming evening, only to fall quickly to the Blu-Jays’ stifling defense, 37-24.
“The way we started the game was a lot better,” head coach Gavin Cole said.
The Wildcats outscored the Jays 9-2 in the first six minutes.
Then, when the Wildcats got hit with the press, it all went out the window. Sydney Dent and Autumn Secrest capitalized on three consecutive turnovers, capped with a trey by Secrest. The Blu-Jays scored eight points in 15 seconds on the game clock, literally.
The score was tied 10-all going into the second. Despite, the suffocating defense, the Wildcats held their own for the remainder of the half. Kaitlin Ensminger, Ashlynn Pinkerton and Kyla Drake saw to that.
The Blu-Jays held a 24-19 lead at halftime.
“We probably should have been ahead going into the half,” Cole said.
Their weren’t any more “probablies” for the second half. Whatever energy that Lady Wildcats had in them had gone; a problem Cole has seen throughout the season, which he contributes to the shallow roster.
“We’ve been seeing it all along, we get burnt out during the game,” he said.
The Blu-Jays outscored Marmaton Valley 13-5 in the third.
Emily Meiwes came alive down low to contribute a few buckets in the paint at the end of the quarter, to keep the Wildcats in shouting distance, 31-23, going into the fourth.
Scoring only one point in the fourth wouldn’t do the trick, as the Blu-Jays romped to the win.
Ashlynn Pinkerton led the team with eight points, six of which came in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Drake had five, Misty Storrer and Meiwes had four apiece.
The Cats play Altoona-Midway at home Monday, who they beat 41-8 on their first meeting. Cole has high hopes, for the team’s sake.
“We could use a little confidence boost right about now,” he said.
Pleasanton 10-14-7-6—37
Marmaton Valley 10-9-4-1—24
Pleasanton (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Ellis 0-1-3-1, Dent 7-1-2-15, Rothenberger 0-0-1-0, Howell 2-1-1-5, Secrest 1/2-3-2-11, Sowards 0-0-3-0, Marshall 2-1-3-5. TOTALS: 12/2-7-15-37.
Marmaton Valley (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Ensminger 1-0-3-2, Pinkerton 4-0-3-8, Storrer 1-2-5-4, Drake 2-1-2-5, Meiwes 2-0-3-4, Newman 0-1-1-1. TOTALS: 10-4-17-24.
Marmaton Valley girls come up short
