Gallery by Tina Laney
Hico – Through three games this season Midland Trail has struggled offensively.
Fortunately for the Patriots, their defense has staked them to a 3-0 record heading into a Wednesday night clash with Independence.
While on paper the game appeared to be a much anticipated battle of unbeaten teams, it never materialized that way on the floor.
Clicking on both ends of the floor, Midland Trail ran away from Independence in the second half for a convincing 66-27 win.
“We finally made some strides offensively. We have been struggling all year missing layups and foul shots,” Midland Trail head coach Mark Kincaid said. “We have a lot of young kids, but Jayla Barnhouse played lights out tonight. Ava Dickerson and Nevaeh Hall are getting there and they got some good experience tonight.”
Part of the defensive strategy for Midland Trail was clamping down on Indy’s freshman sensation Harmony Mills.
Also hampered by foul trouble, the home team was able to harass Mills all night, holding her to nine points.
“(Harmony) is a really nice player and she is tough. I was able to put four different players on her at different times tonight. I doubt she has seen anything like that this year,” Kincaid said. “We have really gotten after it defensively and I have been playing eight people regularly. I just keep subbing in and out every three minutes. I want them to play hard for three minutes and we can sub them out.”
The tight defense on his young star was no surprise for Independence head coach Mark Cuthbert.
“I knew it was coming, but I was hoping we would handle it a little better,” Cuthbert said. “Hopefully it will wake us up a little bit.”
Independence took the initial lead on a corner jumper from Ali Hypes, but with the game tied 4-4 with three minutes to play in the opening quarter, Midland Trail began to pull away.
Catherine Maxwell and Jayla Barnhouse scored off back-to-back offensive rebounds before Addy Isaacs pushed the lead to six points on a run out.
A pair of steals by Isaacs and one from Nevaeh Hall led to six more points and a 16-4 lead after one quarter.
“We have more depth than they do and a little more experience even though we are young,” Kincaid said. “I can see a big improvement in Independence. They are definitely well coached and I can see them make strides each year.”
The visitors cut the lead back to eight points on two occasions in the second quarter, but an 11-2 run gave Trail a 29-12 advantage and all the momentum.
Four points from Kamryn Wooten and three from Mills helped trim the lead back to 13 points at halftime, but the second half was all Midland Trail.
The ladies from Hico outscored Indy 13-3 in the third period to put the game away for good.
Jayla Barnhouse led Midland Trail with 19 points including 15 points in the second half. Isaacs added 18 points and Hall finished with 10 on the night.
“We did better on the boards tonight. Rebounds have been an issue, but we seemed to rebound better tonight,” Kincaid said. “Hall plays like Dennis Rodman sometimes and she is very athletic. She will be dangerous when she learns how to fully play.”
The win over Independence was also important for Trail in regards to the postseason and sectional seeding.
“It was big. You work to get home-court advantage. We have sectional wins now over Independence and Shady Spring,” Kincaid said. “We have a big sectional game next week with Westside and we had two good battles with them last year. Then we have PikeView coming up later back-to-back. It’s fun to play these games and watch the kids grow.”
Both teams are back in action tonight when Midland Trail welcomes Sherman and Independence hosts county rival Shady Spring.
I: 4 16 3 4 – 27
MT: 16 17 13 20 – 66
Independence
Jenna Harvey 3, Harmony Mills 9, Alli Hypes 4, Zoey Bragg 2, Heidi Wood 1, Kamryn Wooten 6, Sarah Billings 2. Totals: 10 7-25 27.
Midland Trail
Addi Isaacs 18, Rumor Barnhouse 9, Jayla Barnhouse 19, Brylee Stephenson 2, Catherine Maxwell 2, Mia Nuckols 2, Ava Dickerson 4, Nevaeh Hall 10. Totals: 25 15-20 66.
3-pointers – I: none; MT: 1 (Isaacs)
