Scoring drought leaves Lady Pirates high and dry in loss to Piketon

WAVERLY — To say the Wheelersburg Lady Pirates had a cold shooting game is like saying it’s cold in the Antarctica,

Cold shooting spelled doom for the Pirates as they fell to the Piketon Lady Red Steaks i48-35 in the Division 5 district semifinals on Saturday at Waverly’s Downtown Arena.

The Lady Pirates were plagued early by turnovers and missed shots, many at close range. Head coach Dusty Spradlin said missing shots and giving up too many second shots hurt his team early.

“It’s been our Achilles all year. We don’t have a lot of size. Obviously, when you don’t hit shots it becomes difficult for you. I thought we got some decent looks,” said Spradlin.

“We didn’t cash in on our opportunities and they certainly did, They were able to drive through the defense too often. If you don’t make shots, everything becomes more magnified, especially early.”

The inability to hit shots was never more evident than a 7-minute scoring drought. Spradlin said his team began to press too much.

“It’s like you were in softball and were trying to hit a three-run homer and there was nobody on base. It’s a lot easier said than done,” said Spradlin.

“When things aren’t going well you’ve got to dig in a little bit deeper defensively, and as hard as it is, you’ve got to relax offensively. It’s tough to make shots when you’re that tense. And we were the first half.”

Things started off hot for the Lady Pirates, as Prather drilled a 3-pointer on the opening possession and Lainey Skeens later hit from downtown to give Wheelersburg a 7-4 lead midway through the first quarter.

Piketon went on to score 6-straight to jump out in front before Ava Artrip drove to the net for two, making the score 10-9 in favor of Piketon after one quarter.

Wheelersburg wouldn't be able to build on Artrip's score, as they suffered through a scoring drought for nearly 7 minutes. Prather would bring the drought to an end with a 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining in the half.

But despite not scoring for so long, the Lady Pirates' defense were able to keep Piketon in check and trail just 18-12 when Prather hit from long range.

Myles Bailey came up with a steal near mid-court and Artrip sank a free throw to cut the deficit to five. But Briar Penwell scored on a jumper as time expired to send the Lady Red Streaks into the locker room with a 20-13 lead.

The Lady Pirates finally got some momentum of their own in the final minutes of the third.

Skeens would sink a pair of free throws and Prather hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to 29-25 with 1:21 remaining in the quarter.

But that momentum was quickly erased following a pair of scores from Shanks to give Piketon a 33-25 lead going into the fourth.

Piketon wouldn't allow the Lady Pirates to make any late comeback, as they kept their lead hovering around three possessions for much of the quarter.

Forbes scored 6 in the quarter and Shanks chipped in 4 of her own to help secure the win for Piketon.

Wheelersburg was led by Prather with 14 points and 5 rebounds.

The Lady Red Streaks were led in scoring by Shanks with a game-high 15 points and 8 rebounds. Forbes finished with 12 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.

Wheelersburg ends the season 14-9 overall. Piketon (19-5) advances to the district finals where they will face Eastern Brown on Saturday at Waverly's Downtown Arena.

Wheelersburg 9 4 12 10 = 35

Piketon 10 10 13 15 = 48

WHEELERSBURG (14-9): Callie DeHart 2 1 0-0 7, Ava Artrip 1 0 3-4 5, Myles Bailey 0 1 0-4 3, Lainey Skeens 0 1 3-4 6, Makenzie Mullens 0 0 0-0 0, Haley Little 0 0 0-0 0, Jaylinn Prather 2 3 1-2 12, Peyton May 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 5 6 7-14 35. Rebounds: O-10 D-20 = 30 (DeHart 9, May 8, Prather 5). Assists: 4 (Artrip 2). Steals: 7 (Artrip 3, Bailey 2). Blocks: 5 (Skeens 2, Prather 2, Bailey). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.

PIKETON (19-5): Haydn Daniels 0 0 3-4 3, Laila Kelley 2 0 2-4 6, Briar Penwell 3 0 1-2 7, Reese Shanks 6 0 3-8 15, Jaylin Forbes 2 0 0-0 12, Maddie Hale 0 1 0-0 3, Taylor Roberts 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 18 1 9-18 48. Rebounds: O-6, D-28 = 34 (Forbes 9, Shanks 8, Kelley 4). Assists: 2. Steals: 10 (Forbes 4, Daniels 2, Shanks 2). Blocks: 5 (Daniels 2). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.