Rubi Davila attacks the basket on a breakaway for the Lady Horses
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Lady Raider Kara Beth Benton attempts a three with a hand in her face.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Midway’s Kyleigh Stonerock looks to dish the ball as a pair of Dark Horse defenders close in on her.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Lady Horse Janiya Mosley goes up for a layup.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
The Clinton and Midway girls’ basketball teams met up on the basketball court for the second time this season Friday. The first meeting just a few weeks ago saw the Lady Dark Horses race past the Lady Raiders in an impressive, blowout victory. This time around, it was much the same as Clinton gradually pulled away throughout the game and took home the 56-33 victory.
The opening tip was knocked out of bounds by Clinton and first possession was given to Midway. Kara Beth Benton sank the first bucket of the game for the Lady Raiders, giving Midway a quick 2-0 lead. A few moments later, Ciara Stuart grabbed a steal and went the other way for an easy basket to tie things up. The pace of the game really picked up as the Lady Raiders had to adjust and fend off a tenacious full-court press from the Lady Dark Horses. Several shots were attempted but weren’t falling for both teams and with 4:20 on the clock a timeout was called with Clinton leading 5-4. The offense picked for both teams out of the break but the Lady Dark Horses had secured an early 9-6 advantage. As time ticked away in the first quarter, turnovers had become the theme of the game, but Clinton continued to extend their lead, which reached 11-6 before Midway sank a pair of free throws. Phoenix Everette had a strong first quarter for the Lady Dark Horses, scoring 10 points to help Clinton lead 17-10 at the end of the first.
Stuart was also having a nice game, just trailing Everett in the scoring column. She converted an and-1 at the start of the second quarter, making it a 10-point lead. Clinton was really cooking, starting the quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 26-12 lead at the 4:50 mark. The Lady Raiders were struggling just to hold onto the ball, much less get any shot opportunities. They finally cashed in a few free throws to move their score but the Lady Dark Horses were holding firm, leading 31-16 with 1:50 left in the first half and at halftime the score was 33-18.
Clinton again exploded out of the gate in the second half, mounting an 8-0 run to make it 41-18. Down on the other end, fumble fingers plagued Midway as they routinely lost possessions after failing to hold onto the ball. The Lady Raiders offense slowly picked up a bit, but just as was the case all game long, it wasn’t enough to chip into the deficit. With 2:17 on the clock in the third quarter, a timeout was called on the court with Clinton leading 43-24. After hitting one more run at the end of the quarter, the Lady Dark Horses took a 48-25 lead into the final period.
There wasn’t much left to settle with the game now in the fourth quarter. Clinton was well in control and the only thing left undecided was what their margin of victory would be. With offense not being overly abundant in the fourth quarter the final margin only grew a little bit, standing at 56-33.
Leading scorer for the Lady Horses was Everett with a game-high 21 points. Stuart finished with 10 and Davila had nine.
For the Lady Raiders, Benton and Peyton Herring had seven each and Ella Clark had six.
With the win, Clinton is now 12-7 overall and is in third place of the Southeastern Athletic Conference at 4-2. They were slated to host Wallace-Rose Hill on Monday and will travel to West Bladen on Tuesday and host Red Springs on Friday.
In defeat, Midway is now 7-9 overall and is in fifth place in conference play at 1-5. They will host Fairmont on Tuesday and West Bladen on Friday.