MORGANTOWN – The MHS girls basketball team earned an all-around victory on Friday night over the visiting Musselman Lady Applemen inside the Rowdie Center at MHS.
Every single player that touched the floor for MHS (11-4) scored on its way to a 59-17 win. Junior Abby Smith led all scorers with 14 points off of the bench. The Mohigan reserve players scored 32 of the team’s 59 total points on the night.
The starters did their part prior though, opening the game on a 16-4 run that began from the very first possession of the game.
The opening tip went to MHS and its first offensive set allowed senior Mia Henkins to get free on the wing. The Mohigans worked the ball to her and she buried a triple to set the tone. The sharpshooting senior hit four 3s in the game, all in the first quarter, to spark her team for the rest of the game.
“Mia hitting those four threes really set the tone for the evening,” MHS head coach Doug Goodwin said after the game. “We were able to get off to a quick start from that point. Abby Smith came in a gave some great energy as well. This game gave us great opportunities to play a lot of our girls and work on what we needed to work on defensively.”
To open the game, MHS ran a full-court press that gave the Lady Applemen fits while trying to simply get the ball over the half-court line. When they did, the man-to-man defense by the Mohigans was smothering enough to cause multiple turnovers as Musselman only attempted five total shots in the opening frame.
The pace of the game slowed after a 21-6 advantage in the first for MHS. Both teams ran offense and the Mohigans showed their ability to run multiple defenses at their opponents, at times including both a 2-3 zone and a 1-3-1.
Carrying over into the second half, the defense for MHS only allowed four total points in the final 16 minutes of the game (two in each quarter) on its way to a 59-17 victory.
“You really have to appreciate the effort that Musselman gave this evening, they battled and didn’t quit,” Goodwin said of the Applemen. “We all had the chance to put some points in the book, we are proud of the effort of everyone tonight. We are back tomorrow at 8 a.m. to start prepping for Marietta on Monday.”
The Mohigans will return home Monday to begin the OVAC 5A conference tournament as they host Marrietta, OH at 7 p.m.
Morgantown 59, Musselman 17
MHS 21 9 15 12 – 59
MuHS 6 7 2 2 – 17
Morgantown – Henkins 7 0-0 12; Wassick 3 2-3 4; Jordan 2 0-0 4; Bechtel 2 2-2 4; Hawkins 1 0-0 2; Sweeney 1 0-2 3; Smith 11 3-7 14; Howell 2 0-0 3; P. Smith 6 3-3 6; Anderson 1 0-2 2; Chipps 6 0-2 4
Musselman – Ritchie 5 1-4 4; Martin 2 0-0 2; 3 0-1 5; Walker 5 0-1 4; Funkhouser 1 0-0 2
3pt goals – Morgantown 8 (Henkins 4, Sweeney 1, A. Smith 1, P. Smith 1, Howell 1); Musselman 2( Ritchie 1, Price 1)
