Scots Led 23-0 After One Quarter; Host Berea Saturday
MARYVILLE – Maryville pitched a first-quarter shutout and rode that momentum to an 80-36 Collegiate Conference of the South victory over Wesleyan here Friday night.
The Scots limited the visiting Wolves to 0-of-9 shooting and 12 turnovers during that first 10 minutes of play. Wesleyan didn't dent the scoreboard until Gabby Barnwell sank a jumper just six seconds into the second quarter.
Knowing that first-place Berea visits Saturday for a 2 p.m. start, the Maryville coaching staff kept all MC player minutes balanced. No one played 20 minutes, and everyone played at least 12 minutes.
"Jordan Ballard does a good job with our substitutions, and she was on top of keeping a balance tonight," Maryville head coach Darrin Travillian said of his assistant coach. "You want to get your core group enough time to stay in a rhythm, but you've also got a whole lot of student-athletes who have been practicing hard since Labor Day. Those kids need to get on the floor.
"That's where the lion's share of the minutes went tonight."
Balanced Playing Time
Cassidy Andry was the top minutes producer with nearly 20. The first-year forward recently returned from an injury, and Travillian was happy to see the South Pittsburg native back in the rotation. She finished with six points and seven boards.
"That was the first extended playing time Cass has had," Travillian said. "It was nice to see her getting some experience. We had a whole lot of kids get out there and get some shots up and get a few boards. There was good balance.
"Everybody was looking for each other – we had 26 assists on 35 made baskets. Everybody did a nice job of sharing the basketball and looking to make one more pass. Our core group did a great job of encouraging the next group to take advantage of their chances and get some shots up."
Madison Williams just missed a double-double with nine assists and nine rebounds, while Courtney Farr scored seven, Chloe Roark six and Kinsee LeFevers six.
Carruthers, Cathers Tops in Scoring
Among the starters, Courtney Carruthers tallied 16 points in a little less than 13 minutes, with Olivia Cathers adding 12. Emma Huskey scored eight points to go with eight boards and four steals.
In a statistical oddity, Maryville did not make a free throw, finishing 0-of-3.
Wesleyan's Jamila Ra-Hashim led all scorers with 18 points and seven steals.
The Scots improved to 7-9 overall and 4-3 in the CCS, while Wesleyan is now 0-12 and 0-8.
Maryville hosts first-place Berea on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Mountaineers enter at 16-1 overall and 8-0 in league play. Their only loss was Dec. 30 at No. 2-ranked Transylvania.