BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PAINTSVILLE — The Martin County Lady Cardinals played their first district game of the season Friday on the road and came up short in a hard-fought battle against Paintsville 55-51.
The Lady Cardinals got off to a slow start hitting 3 of 13 from the field in the first quarter, shooting a cold 23% from the field.
Paintsville Lady Tigers shot 5 of 8 from the 3-point line and 50% from the field to go up 15-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The Cardinals fought back in the second quarter with pressure defense outscoring Paintsville 13-10 to cut the lead to 25-21 going in at the half.
Paintsville continued to shoot the ball well during the third quarter going 65% from the field and hitting 3 of 7 from the 3-point line.
The Lady Cards struggled to find the basket, hitting 5 of 14 shots for 35%.
Even though the Cards were not shooting the ball well, they played hard and kept the game within reach 42-35 at the end of the third.
Martin County trailed 49-37 with 6:37 to go in the last quarter. The Lady Cards stepped up the pressure defense causing Paintsville to commit several turnovers and cutting the lead to 51-49 with 2 minutes to go. Three seconds later, Kinner drove the baseline and hit a tough shot to put the Tigers up 53-49.
Paintsville fouled Laken Williams at the 1:47 mark. The junior sank the first free throw to cut the lead to 53-50. The second free throw fell short.
Paintsville took the air out of the ball and the Lady Cards were forced to foul with 49 seconds to go. Preece missed the free throw, which allowed Williams to drive the length of the court and get fouled. With 43 seconds remaining, Williams made 1 of 2 shots.
Paintsville committed a turnover with 20 seconds remaining to give the Lady Cards a chance to tie or take the lead. The Lady Cards committed one of their 13 turnovers for the game, and Paintsville went on to win.
“We just have to get out to a better start offensively and knock down some shots,” Martin County coach Robin Newsome said. “I’m proud of my team for fighting back several times in the game. We played hard, fought back and put ourselves in a position to win the game. We have to defend the 3-point shot better. Paintsville has a good team and shot the ball really well. We will bounce back and work harder.”
Team stats saw the Lady Cards had 13 turnovers versus Paintsville’s 20. The Lady Cards also outrebounded Paintsville 29-27. Paintsville shot 10 of 41 for 61% from the field, hitting 12 of 27 three-pointers for 44%. The Lady Cards shot 19 of 55 for 37% for the game.
Williams led all scorers with 21 points for Martin County. Katie Marcum netted 10 points, Alyssa Allen followed with six, Brooke Marcum added five, and Candace Spaulding, Chloe May and Sophie Harless each scored two points.
Kylie Kinner led Paintsville with 18, Kayllyn Vannoy and Kali Mulcahy each netted 12, Camryn Helton added seven and Emilea Preece finished with six.