BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PAINTSVILLE — Martin County Middle School bounced back from a hard-fought loss at Johnson County Middle School to pick up its first A-team victory of the season Aug. 11 at Paintsville.
The Lady Cardinals defeated Paintsville 44-33 behind a 19-point performance from Harper Runyon and 16 points from Paige Stafford.
The win came one night after Martin County fell 41-31 at Johnson County in a physical matchup that first-year head coach BJ Endicott believed showed growth from her young squad.
“We didn’t give up like we did at Belfry, but we kind of took a step back and said, ‘We’re better than what we think we are,’” Endicott said following the Johnson County game.
Martin County proved it less than 24 hours later.
MC 44, Paintsville 33
Runyon poured in 19 points to lead Martin County to the 11-point road victory. Stafford fired in 16.
Martha Maynard added six points, Braylee Horn scored two and Kenleigh Estep chipped in one.
Runyon and Stafford combined for 35 of Martin County’s 44 points.
JC 41, MC 31
Martin County showed early that it was prepared to battle with Johnson County.
Horn opened the scoring with a jumper before Johnson County moved ahead 5-2.
Runyon attacked the basket and knocked down three free throws during the early going before Stafford put Martin County back in front. Stafford drove for a layup, drew the foul and completed the old-fashioned three-point play to give the Lady Cardinals a 10-9 advantage.
Johnson County answered to regain the lead and eventually carried a 20-14 advantage into halftime.
Martin County made its strongest charge in the third quarter.
Runyon scored to open the half and cut the deficit to 20-16. After Johnson County answered with a 3-pointer, Estep took a hard foul while attacking the basket and sank both free throws to make it 23-18.
The Lady Cardinal defense then started creating opportunities.
Runyon got a deflection that led to a Maynard steal, and Stafford knocked down a jumper to trim the deficit to 23-20. Martin County’s press forced another turnover and Stafford finished the possession with a layup to pull the Lady Cards within one at 23-22.
Johnson County answered with a 6-0 run to create some separation.
Stafford stopped the run just before the third-quarter buzzer, taking contact through two defenders and finishing a right-handed floater while fading in the paint to cut the lead to 31-25.
Johnson County opened the fourth quarter with seven straight points, including a 3-pointer, to stretch the margin to 38-25. Stafford answered with another floater, but the Lady Cardinals could not complete the comeback.
Stafford finished with a game-high 16 points for Martin County. Runyon bucketed nine. Horn, Maynard and Estep scored two apiece.
Endicott was encouraged by how his players handled the physical nature of the contest.
“I think we responded really well,” Endicott said. “Actually it surprised me how well we did respond, because the first thing I said when we went in the locker room was, ‘You got hit, what did you do? You played through it.’”
The coach also liked what she saw from Runyon and Stafford as Martin County began finding better looks offensively.
“Great ball movement; they kept their heads up and made intelligent plays. They are high IQ players,” Endicott said. “But we’re seeing those off the ball passes, and those kick-outs and stuff a little better, a little quicker, and it makes a big difference.”
Endicott believed the performance could give Martin County confidence when the two teams meet again.
“We see how well, how positively we responded to them,” Endicott said. “So that kind of gives us a little chip going into the game knowing, ‘Hey, we had them up until a certain point.’”
B team falls
Johnson County defeated Martin County 23-4 in the B-team contest.
Brooklyn Nichols and Aubrey Wilson scored two points each for the Lady Cardinals.
C team beats JC
Martin County’s C team earned a 26-15 victory over Johnson County.
Nichols led the Lady Cardinals with 12 points and Harper Howell added nine. Elizabeth Dials and McKenna Fletcher scored two points apiece. Wilson rounded out the scoring with one.