BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PAINTSVILLE — Martin County opened fast and grabbed its biggest lead of the night in the opening seconds, but Paintsville answered with a long run and pulled away for a 77-42 win Monday in the first round of the 57th District Tournament at Johnson Central High School.
The Lady Cards struck first when Maci Maynard tipped the opening ball to Makenna Marcum. She scored at the basket within the first five seconds for a quick 2-0 lead. Moments later, Maynard kicked a pass out of the paint to senior Sophie Harless on the wing for a triple to give Martin County a 5-0 advantage.
It proved to be Martin County’s largest lead of the night.
Paintsville responded with a 9-0 run to take control, then outscored the Lady Cards 10-4 the rest of the opening quarter for a 19-9 lead after one.
Martin County got as close as 21-14 in the second quarter when Marcum buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key. But Paintsville continued to build separation and took a 45-22 lead into halftime after a 26-13 second period.
The Lady Tigers broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Martin County 27-10 to carry a 72-32 lead into the fourth.
Martin County held Paintsville to five points in the final quarter, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
Marcum filled the stat sheet with 12 points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals. Maynard added 12 points, five rebounds and swatted two Tiger shots. Harless scored eight points with five rebounds. She also swiped three steals and dished out three assists. Her fellow senior Chloe May added six points, two assists and three rebounds. Annaleigh Davis finished with two points, two assists and two steals. Lexi Cline came off the bench for two points and a steal. Desirae Gullett grabbed a board off the glass.
Martin County shot 15-of-50 from the field (30%), including 5-of-24 from 3-point range, and went 7-of-9 at the free-throw line.
Paintsville held a 34-23 rebounding advantage and forced 17 Martin County turnovers.
The Lady Tigers shot 24-of-48 from the floor (50%) and 22-of-24 from the free-throw line (91.7%).
Kinner led Paintsville with 24 points, while Blankenship added 17, Ramey and Skaggs scored 11 points apiece, and Helton bucketed six points.
