BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Lady Cardinals pounded Paintsville 67-42 and crushed Magoffin County 56-26 in 57th District play at home last week.
The Lady Cards improved to 15-4.
Below is a recap of the action.
Lady Cards pound Paintsville
The Lady Cards left nothing in doubt when they pounded the Paintsville Tigers 67-42 in a home game Jan. 17.
This was Martin County’s third time playing Paintsville this season. The Lady Cards had just come off an overtime win vs. Paintsville 61-56 in the All “A” Classic on Jan. 3.
The Lady Cards came out a little nervous and cold offensively going 3-for-16 for 22% from the field in the first quarter. They had to rely on their defense to keep this one close in the first. The Cardinals defense held Paintsville to 12 points in the first quarter. Paintsville’s Kinner and Mulchay got loose for a couple of treys to put the Tigers up 12-9 at the end of one.
Things quickly turned in the second as Laken Williams, Katie Marcum and Alyssa Allen heated up and scored 19 of the 21 points to put the Lady Cards up 30-24 at the half.
The Cardinals offense hit 7-for-14 from the field for 50%, while Marcum went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line for 100% in the first half.
Brooke Marcum, Allen and K. Marcum turned up the defensive heat in the third. The trio came away with several deflections and steals to lead to some breakaway baskets and push the Cardinals lead out 48-35.
Williams and company, Allen and Marcum, continued to carry the offensive load in the third. Chloe May stepped up and knocked down a huge 3-pointer and B. Marcum got loose for a bucket. The Lady Cards went 8-for-18 from the field for 44% in the third.
Keeping the momentum, Williams got loose for seven of her 23 in the fourth quarter. The Lady Cardinals had a 19-point final frame to wrap up the win.
Five players got in the books in the fourth. Harless knocked down a big trey and Spaulding scored on a breakaway bucket. The Lady Cards finished a strong 8-for-14 from the field for 57%. K. Marcum went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line for a season-high 88%. Martin County held Paintsville to a single-digit score of seven points.
Coach Robin Newsome’s squad shot 41% from the field and a season-high 10-for-11 from the free-throw line for 91%. They won the battle on the boards 42-25.
“This was a huge win for district seeding,” Newsome said. “We needed this one and the kids came through in a big and convincing way. I keep asking kids to give more and for others to step up, and I felt like all our kids did tonight.”
Leading the way for the Lady Cardinals, Williams, the Lexington Herald-Leader 2022-23 pre-season top 25 player in the state, fired in 23 points. The junior tallied a season-high seven rebounds and dished out five assists.
Coming up big, Allen played possibly her best game of the season with 18 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Junior K. Marcum, who draws the defense, game in and game out, finished with 14 points, eight boards and three steals. She led the way dishing out six dimes.
Candace Spaulding added four points, three big rebounds, one steal and four deflections. May knocked down a huge 3-pointer for three points, grabbed five big rebounds and had one steal.
Sophie Harless eyed a trey for three points and grabbed two rebounds. B. Marcum flipped in two points, four big rebounds, two assists and three deflections. Kennadi Mollett grabbed three rebounds, one steal and one deflection.
Kylie Kinner led Paintsville with 13 points, Emilia Preece followed with 12, Kali Mulchay netted nine, Camryn Helton chipped in seven and Eliza Howard added one.
Lady Cardinals swat Hornets
INEZ — Martin County Lady Cardinals swatted the Magoffin County Hornets 56-26 Saturday in a 57th District matchup at home.
The Lady Cardinals jumped out 15-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Junior Laken Williams caught fire in the second quarter going off for 14 of her 18 points to help the Lady Cards to a 36-12 lead at the half.
Martin County held Magoffin to four points in the second quarter.
This game turned ugly as the Lady Cards won the third quarter 13-6 to take a 49-18 lead into the final quarter.
Coach Robin Newsome subbed early and often, allowing all kids to play as Martin County wrapped up the win.
Williams paced the Cardinals with 18 points, five picks, four assists and seven rebounds. Katie Marcum netted 11 points, seven boards and two picks. Alyssa Allen fired in nine points, four boards and three assists. Freshmen Brooke Marcum and Sophie Harless each dropped six points. B. Marcum had four boards and three steals.
Harless had a season-high six big rebounds. Kennadi Mollett finished with 2 points and four assists. Candace Spaulding and Hallie Mills each added two points.
K. Williams led Magoffin County with eight points, Barnett netted six, Lafferty flipped in five, M. Williams finished with three, and Mullins and Bradley each added two.
The Lady Cards had 43 rebounds to Magoffin’s 38. The Hornets committed 27 turnovers compared to 10 for the Lady Cards.
The Lady Cardinals had 17 steals and 15 deflections and handed out 14 assists for the game.
Martin County Lady Cardinals will be back in action Wednesday (Jan. 25) at Johnson Central. Varsity game only will tip off at 6:30.
