Miami Trace freshman Gracie Lovett attacks the basket during the first half of the game against Chillicothe on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Lovett finished with 11 points and the Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Cavs by a score of 49-43.
Tyler Flora | Record-Herald
The Miami Trace Lady Panthers (4-9, 1-4 FAC) hosted the Chillicothe Lady Cavaliers (1-10, 1-4 FAC) on a chilly, windy, Wednesday evening with both teams looking to avoid falling into last place in the Frontier Athletic Conference.
In a back-and-forth, physical contest, the Lady Panthers would prevail by a score of 49-43.
Senior Jessee Stewart got Miami Trace on the board first by splitting a pair of free throws.
Chillicothe junior Savannah Knapp connected on one of two free throws at the other end to make it 1-1.
Freshman Lauren Guess of Miami Trace made one of two from the charity stripe in response to put the Lady Panthers back ahead.
Lady Cavs junior Miranda McCloy made a bucket and the foul for a three-point play to make it 4-2 on the ensuing possession.
A three from Stewart later had Miami Trace in front 5-4.
Back-to-back layups from Chillicothe senior Kendra Allen and junior Kiera Archer allowed the Lady Cavs to pull ahead by three.
The lead changed hands again after a jumper from Stewart and two free throws from Guess put the Lady Panthers back up by one.
Archer would quickly regain the lead for Chillicothe with a pair of free throws.
Layups from Cali Kirkpatrick and Guess had Miami Trace ahead 13-10 late in the opening quarter.
Chillicothe would then go on a 7-0 run to end the quarter with a free throw each from Knapp and Archer, a three from McCloy and a jumper from Avery Cox.
Miami Trace opened the second quarter with a floater from sophomore Zoey Groom to get them within two.
Knapp responded at the other end with a long two to make it 19-15.
Guess made a layup in response, and then Miranda would answer with a layup of her own to keep the lead at four points.
The Lady Panthers got within a point after a long three from Stewart, but Cox made a contested layup at the other end to get the lead back to three. A layup from Allen had Chillicothe ahead by five late in the half.
Just like the Lady Cavs did in the first quarter, the Lady Panthers went on a run to close out the second quarter. It consisted of a long three and a free throw from Stewart, and a steal from freshman Cassidy Lovett who took it all the way for a layup just before time expired to give Miami Trace a 26-25 lead at the half.
Chillicothe would tie the score two times in the third quarter, but were never able to regain the lead in the second half.
Miami Trace’s largest lead of the evening came with just over two minutes left in the game as they were ahead 44-36.
The Lady Cavs were down 49-43 with under 15 seconds left in the contest and had multiple looks from three, but were unable to get anything to fall as time expired and Miami Trace came away with the victory.
Statistically for the Lady Panthers, Jessee Stewart led all scorers with 15 points, including knocking down three threes. Stewart also recorded one rebound.
Gracie Lovett was next in scoring with 11, and added five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Lauren Guess followed with nine points, and also had six rebounds and one steal.
Zoey Grooms and Ryleigh Vincent each added six points. Grooms secured seven rebounds and one assist, and Vincent pulled down five rebounds with one assist and one steal.
Cali Kirkpatrick chipped in two points and recorded five rebounds and one steal.
Bella Shull added two steals and a rebound to the team’s total, and Alison Reeves contributed a rebound.
Miami Trace (5-9, 2-4 FAC) will play again on Saturday at home against McClain (6-6, 3-3 FAC) at 6:45 p.m.
Chillicothe (1-11, 1-5 FAC) is back in action on Saturday at Washington (7-7, 3-3 FAC) at 1:30 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MT 13 13 8 15 — 49
C 17 8 6 12 — 43
MIAMI TRACE — Gracie Lovett 5-1-11; Alison Reeves 0-0-0; Bella Shull 0-0-0; Jessee Stewart 1 (3)-4-15; Cali Kirkpatrick 1-0-2; Lauren Guess 3-3-9; Ryleigh Vincent 3-0-6; Zoey Grooms 3-0-6. TOTALS — 16 (3)-8-49. Free throw shooting: 8 of 18 for 44 percent. Three-point field goals: Stewart 3. Field goal shooting: 19 of 40 for 48 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 3 of 7 for 43 percent. Rebounds: 31 (10 offensive). Turnovers: 21. Assists: 10. Steals: 8.
CHILLICOTHE — Miranda McCloy 2 (1)-2-9; Avery Cox 2-1-5; Adaline Mendel 0 (1)-0-3; Savannah Knapp 2 (1)-2-9; Mallorie McCloy 1-0-2; Kiera Archer 4-3-11; Alyssa Dudley 0-0-0; Kendra Allen 2-0-4. TOTALS — 13 (3)-8-43. Free throw shooting: 8 of 17 for 47 percent. Three-point field goals: McCloy, Mendel, Knapp. Field goal shooting: 16 of 53 for 30 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 3 of 22 for 14 percent. Turnovers: 19. Offensive rebounds: 19.
Lady Panther j-v defeat Lady Cavs
In the j-v contest, Miami Trace won, 34-22.
Statistically for the Lady Panthers, Alison Reeves led with 10 points, followed by Rylee Ferguson with eight, Cali Kirkpatrick with six, Bella Shull with four, and Karleigh Cooper, Katy Bock, and Oliviya Dunn with two points each.
