Coach's advice lifts Lady Panthers to victory

A regular Monday afternoon girls basketball practice at Lakeside came with the usual reminders before a Tuesday evening game. Lakeside coach Moe McCormack announced the last-minute tweaks before her girls faced off against Harlem.

//

"I told them no flat cross-court passes," she said. "You have to get them high with some arc."

The advice was perfect for the game 24 hours later. After a long and even battle for most of the contest, Lakeside trailed by one point with 11 seconds left.

Lady Panther point guard Michelle Thruman had the ball at half court, and teammate Kaitlin Hill was all alone on the weakside post.

"I was open, but I remembered coach saying no flat cross-court passes," Hill said. "I was just hoping this one wasn't flat."

It's wasn't. Thruman fired a perfectly executed cross-court pass to Hill, whose game-winning shot went up and in with only 1.5 seconds on the clock.

"It was a good adjustment by the girls," McCormack said. "Kaitlin filled a wing typically not where she'd be running, but it was open."

Thruman, who scored 10 points in the contest, notched a game-winning assist by initiating a fastbreak off a Harlem free-throw attempt.

"I just was looking for the open player, and Kaitlin was open," Thruman said. "It felt great to win. Last year was fun, but this year feels better when we win."

The winning didn't come all that often last season, but a much-improved Lakeside squad this year owned a 4-4 record heading into a pair of games this weekend.

"The girls are feeling much better about the direction of the program now," McCormack said. "We're only going to get better."

ACS boys 81, Fox Creek 38

The county's highest-scoring team surpassed the 80-point mark again on Tuesday in a blowout win over Fox Creek. Augusta Christian boys basketball coach Marty Griffin said the elevated scoring is part of a set game plan.

"We're trying to get up quick and push it up the floor," he said. "We've been doing it in the past, but I think we're just better at it this year."

The Lions scored 81 points, but no one player had more than 15 in the game. Fred Auston (15) led the team with Zach Cooper (14) and Jonathan Smalley (10) also hitting double digits.

Greenbrier girls 80, Morgan County 61

The Lady Wolfpack extended their undefeated streak to eight games with a 19-point victory over Morgan County. Greenbrier has won 37 of its last 38 games. Four of those wins have come against Morgan County over the past two seasons.

ACS girls 75, Fox Creek 23

Lady Lion sharp-shooter Amaura Brandt nailed five 3-pointers and led Augusta Christian with 21 points in a big win over Fox Creek on Tuesday. Elizabeth Alewine added 19 for the Lady Lions while Catherine Cave scored 11 points.

Evans boys 54, Aquinas 40

The Knights improved to 8-2 overall with a win over Aquinas. Senior Jonathan Nicely's 16 points led all scores as 11 different Knights earned a spot in the scorebook.

Greenbrier boys 61, Morgan County 59

A three-game losing streak finally came to an end for the Wolfpack on Tuesday night. Greenbrier held on for a two-point victory over a Morgan County team that lost to the Wolfpack by one point earlier this season. Greenbrier improved to 3-5 with the victory.

Aquinas girls 51, Evans 31

Courtney Sumner scored 10 points for the Lady Knights, but it wasn't enough to prevent a 20-point loss at the hands of Aquinas. Evans' record dropped to 1-7 overall heading into Friday's game against Harlem.