On Tuesday night, the McCracken County Mustangs and Lady Mustangs headed to Carlisle County, taking on the Comets in a First Region doubleheader.
Mustangs 51, Comets 38
The later action of the night saw the Mustangs pick up their fifth win in a row, taking down the Comets by a final score of 51-38.
Aaron Adams made the difference for the Mustangs on the night with his 22-point effort, knocking down four 3-pointers in a decisive second quarter. Dylan Jackson picked up the Mustangs’ other two threes on the night, finishing his night with ten points. Jay Martin picked up six for the Mustangs, while Garrett Miller had five.
Across the floor, Wyatt Rickard led the scoring for the Comets with a team-high 17 point performance. Heath McBride played a key role for Carlisle as well, coming just shy of double figures with nine points.
Both the Comets and Mustangs played hard-nosed, tight defense from tip-off, making points a premium across the first. After the Mustangs picked up a pair of baskets to open an early lead, the Comets closed the quarter with nine unanswered to take a 9-4 lead out of the first.
Business picked up between the Comets and Mustangs in the offense department throughout the second, with Carlisle getting Rickard working down low to preserve their lead early. However, while Rickard scored down low, Adams would make his presence felt from three-point range at the other end of the floor. Knocking down four from the perimeter, Adams would pick up 14 points in the second to vault the Mustangs into the lead, as they headed back to the locker room in control with a 25-19 advantage.
After Adams dominated the perimeter for the Mustangs in the second, Jackson kept McCracken hot from the outside to open the second, quickly burying a pair of threes to extend the lead into double digits. However, the Comets were able to close down McCracken from three for the remainder of the third, keeping pace to hold the lead near ten as they trailed 41-29 into the fourth.
With just eight minutes left to work with, the Comets started strong in the fourth as they looked to cut into the deficit. Getting a number of key stops, Carlisle were able to pull themselves back within single digits through a three-point play from Jonah Bruer, trailing by seven midway through the quarter. Seven would be as close as the Comets would come, though, as the Mustangs would clamp down across the final minutes, closing the door on a 51-38 victory.
Lady Mustangs 50, Lady Comets 39
In the earlier game of the twin bill, the Lady Mustangs made it back-to-back wins, knocking off the Lady Comets in a 50-39 final.
Ava Hughes led the scoring for the Mustangs, accounting for half of the offense with a 25 point performance. Reagan Hill played a key role in the win with eight points, while Abby Casebier and Brooklin Preston both had five on the night.
“We just found a way to make the shots we needed to tonight,” McCracken County head coach Scott Sivills said. “We were able to get some key stops, some steals and turn those into points. I thought we were sort of lethargic in the first half, but were able to pick up the pace pretty well and make our shots in the second.”
For the Lady Comets, a balanced scoring effort saw four players hover around the ten-point mark. Eden Bruer led the way with 10, followed by Macee Hogancamp’s nine point night, while Olivia Webb and Gracyn Edging each recorded eight to round out the scoring.
While the Lady Mustangs wasted no time jumping out to a lead, scoring in just seconds, the Lady Comets answered straight back to control the early minutes of the first through Edging and Bruer. After Carlisle held a 7-5 lead midway through the quarter, a back-and-forth remainder of the first saw the two sides never separated by more than a possession. A late basket from Smith cut the lead from three to one, as the Lady Mustangs would head into the second up 13-12.
Bruer and Hughes would trade baskets to open the second, as the score stayed close in the first moments. However, McCracken would take over down the stretch through their freshman ace, with a six point stretch from Hughes, along with two from Hill, opened the nights biggest lead at 24-16. The Lady Comets would answer late, however, picking up the final four points of the half as they trailed 24-20 heading into the break.
A stagnant start from either side in the third saw nearly three minutes pass before points were scored from the open floor, with Bruer cutting the lead to three following a free throw from Hughes. In a stark contrast to a largely slow quarter, the Lady Mustangs would pour on the pressure in a busy final two minutes to close the third. Answering a three from Edging, Hughes and Hill combined for ten points down the stretch, opening the first double digit lead of the night as they led 37-27 heading into the fourth.
“If we’re going to win games, we’re always going to need the contributions of Ella and Reagan,” Sivills said on the performance of Hughes and Hill. “Those two step up for us, and they need to in order to win these games, and gives us chances to beat quality teams.”
In need of a rally, the Lady Comets were able to produce in the fourth, with three point plays from Webb and Hogancamp keeping the lead in check. However, any points picked up by Carlisle, the Lady Mustangs had an answer for. Keeping the margin around the ten-point mark throughout, McCracken would hang on to close out the game, picking up their second straight with a 50-39 final score.
“We told them to pick it up in the second, and they did. We did a better job of anticipating passes on defense, picking up steals, and turning them into points. I thought Brooklin Preston was great for us defensively; we put her on their best girls, and she did a great job of staying physical with them,” Sivills continued. “Of course we have to have the contributions from Reagan and Ella, but we had girls like Abby Casebier come up with some big shots for us, too...We’re just trying to find consistency, that’s what we’ve been aiming for all year long is consistent play from the entire team.”
Riding back-to-back wins, the Lady Mustangs will face a stiff test in their next time out, as they take on Calloway County as part of a Friday night home doubleheader.
“They’re just a very good basketball team, they’ve got division one type players, so we know it’ll be a tough matchup,” Sivills concluded, looking ahead to Friday. “The one thing we ask of our girls is to compete for 32 minutes every time, and give ourselves a chance to win these games. We’re at home, we need to protect our house, and it’s important that we’re ready to come out and play on Friday.”
Tip-off between the Lady Mustangs and Lady Lakers is set for 6 PM at Strawberry Hills Pharmacy Arena.
As for the Comets, they also return to action this Friday, with a doubleheader of their own at Hickman County.