Lady Pacers battle,
but fall to Franklin
County by score of 49-43
The Switzerland County Lady Pacers made the long bus ride to Franklin County on Saturday night, and after battling hard for the entire game, the squad fell just short, losing by a final score of 49-43.
Switzerland County stumbled offensively coming out of the gate, getting outscored by Franklin County 11-6 in the first eight minutes. The Lady Pacers got baskets by Aleiah Thomas, Lexi Lay, and Rylee Hankins in the opening quarter; while Franklin County was led by five points from Megan Getz.
The second quarter continued to be a close battle, with the Lady Wildcats outscoring their guests by a 14-11 score to take a 25-17 lead into the halftime break.
Lay had a big quarter for Switzerland County, connecting for five points on a pair of field goals and a freethrow. Thomas continued her solid play with a pair of buckets for four points in the period; and Hankins contributed another basket inside.
Coming out of the halftime break, the third quarter was more of the same, as Switzerland County played nearly evenly with their hosts, but Franklin County continued to win each period by a slim margin, which added up to extending its lead. In the third quarter, Switzerland County again managed 11 points, but Franklin County scored 13, which gave the Lady Wildcats a 10-point lead, 38-28, with a stanza to play.
In that third quarter, Thomas did most of the damage, accounting for nine points on three field goals and three freethrows; while freshman Jessie Duvall hit a jumper for the other Lady Pacer basket.
Down by 10 heading into the last period, Switzerland County made a run, and with two minutes to play, the Lady Pacers were within a point. The rally fell short, unfortunately, as Franklin County steadied themselves and moved back in front to a final margin of six points, winning 49-43.
In that last quarter, Josie Meyer was on fire, connecting on two three-pointers and adding a field goal to account for eight points. Jessie Duvall also hit a three-pointer and added a couple of freethrows for five fourth quarter points; and Hankins also had two freethrows.
Thomas led Switzerland County with 15 points on the night, and she also added four rebounds.
Meyer combined her eight fourth quarter points with a pair of rebounds; while Jessie Duvall had seven points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Lay also had seven points in the contest and paired those with a couple of rebounds; while Hankins continued her dominance inside, scoring six points while pulling down 11 rebounds and adding three steals.
Franklin County was led by Getz with 16; while Abby Orschell was in double figures with 12.
In the junior varsity game, Switzerland County lost by a score of 44-26.
The Lady Pacers were led in the game by Hannah Coghill with seven points; while Maddie Duvall had five; Hannah Hayes had four; Rochelle Bolton and Josie Meyer had three each; and Jayden Thomas and Jaden Harrell each added two.
The Lady Pacers return to action this Tuesday, November 27th, when they travel to Milan.