Gallery by Tina Laney
New Richmond – Rolling through the preseason without a scrimmage, Class AA No. 1 Wyoming East saw its first live action Tuesday in its season opener against Mercer Christian.
It looked how you would imagine a top team playing its first game would – satisfactory with room for improvement.
The Lady Warriors jumped out to a 17-3 lead, weathered a first-half Cavalier run and forced 28 turnovers in a 73-26 win in New Richmond.
Nitpicking a 47-point victory isn’t always easy but it gave East head coach Angie Boninsegna something to work with for the first time all season.
“We did this game what we would’ve done in a scrimmage,” Boninsegna said. “We would’ve analyzed – which we do every game but we were sloppy at times. We shot the ball really well outside and we started out shooting the ball really well. Our defensive effort at times went in and out and our rebounding went in and out – stuff we’ve got to be more consistent with.”
Returning four of their five starters from last year and sixth man Abby Russell who started and earned all-state honors in 2021, the Lady Warriors went to work quickly as Russell nailed a quick 3 off an assist form Maddie Clark. A Mercer Christian turnover led to a 3-pointer for East’s other senior all-stater in Kayley Bane, establishing a quick 6-0 lead.
On the flip side the offensive efficiency for East caused more problems for Mercer Christian with East able to get into its press. The Lady Warriors were 10 of 16 from the field in the opening frame, forcing 12 turnovers which helped contribute to a 22-5 advantage midway through the first quarter.
Though afterwards the visitors found success, making three of their four free throws and trimming the deficit to 15 at the end of the opening stanza. There they found a groove when Ella Botts sank a pair from the charity stripe and Karis Trump netted a field goal for a 4-0 spurt to open the second quarter, frustrating Boninsegna.
“We got a little complacent on defense and let them face cut us a little bit and we didn’t stop it,” Boninsegna said. “We didn’t dictate the play and they did a good job of dictating the play. (Kayley Trump) got in there and made some shots.”
East also lost the turnover battle 6-4 in the frame but regained form late. Leading 29-18, Maddie Clark scored on an assist from Abby Russell and Cadee Blackburn followed with a pair of free throws and a layup to power a 6-0 spurt at the end of the half.
The third quarter saw the hosts carry that momentum on both sides of the ball. They outscored the Cavaliers 20-3 in the third quarter, and shot 52 percent (16 of 31) from the field in the second half.
Buckets from Bane and Russell pushed to lead over 20 where it grew from then on.
“We talked about the importance of defense and unselfishness and boxing out at halftime,” Boninsegna said. “We wanted to get the ball out and run our break. We’ve got to run our break better too but that’s something we continue to learn. They played really well there.”
Russell, Bane and Blackburn all scored in double figures with Bane’s 14 points leading all scorers.
Karis Trump led Mercer Christian with nine points.
East improves to 1-0 and will take a week off before traveling to PikeView on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The Lady Warriors’ game against Bluefield, originally scheduled for Friday was postponed until Jan. 13.
“Our defensive intensity has to get better,” Boninsegna said. “I think it hurt us not having seen a lot of action to begin with and now we have our first two games spread out. We’ve got to play kids longer because we haven’t had those minutes but you’ve got to build it up. We’ve got to be more consistent and dictate and that will come as we play more.”
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
MC: 10 8 3 5 – 26
WE:25 10 20 18 – 73
Scoring
MC: Kayley Trump 6, Karis Trump 9, Ella Botts 2, Bailee Martin 4, Kaitlyn Nestor 5
WE: Abby Russell 12, Colleen Lookabill 2, Maddie Clark 8, Kayley Bane 14, Cadee Blackburn 13, Laken Toler 6, Alivia Monroe 4, Charleigh Price 1, Michaela Brooks 2, Abi Baker 3, Gabby Cameron 6, Kenna Price 2
3-point goals – MC: 2 (Karis Trump 1, Nestor 1) ; WE: 6 (Russell 1, Bane 2, Blackburn 1, Toler 2)
