HS Roundup: Plemons key to North Murray girls win

Published 12:24 am Saturday, December 12, 2015

CHATSWORTH — You can tell Sarah Plemons doesn’t mind deflecting credit that might come her way as she and her North Murray Lady Mountaineers rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat host Murray County 55-50 Friday night in a Region 6-3A matchup.

Just a freshman, the 5-foot-10 Plemons handled the ball in nearly every crucial moment late in the game and scored seven of her 11 points during the final stanza as the Lady Mountaineers improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in 6-3A action. Murray County dropped to 1-6, 1-3.

North Murray was in trouble early as the Lady Indians fought back from a 6-0 deficit and eventually took a 22-21 halftime lead as Aubrie Osborne nailed three three-pointers. MCHS kept pouring it on to start the third period as Kasey Beavers nailed a trey and Ciarra Hatton’s jumper put Murray ahead 31-21.

But just then, the Lady Mountaineers went on a 16-7 run to pull within one point, 38-37, of Murray entering the final period. During the North Murray run, Hannah Long, who led all scorers with 20 points, poured in eight points. During the fourth period, the long-armed Plemons shined with mesmerizing dribbling, assists and timely free throws to seal the victory.

“We just didn’t show up in the beginning,” Plemons said. “We knew what we had to do, but we were just jittery. We just weren’t getting it done on defense early in the game. But we stayed together and it worked out. We lost a lot of seniors from last year’s team and we’ve just all had to step up and play together. I have a lot of really good teammates.” 

North Murray put defensive pressure on the Lady Indians hard in the second half and NMHS coach Keith Robinette said it paid dividends. The Lady Mountaineers’ roster is packed with long, athletic players who work hard.

Murray coach Dawn McClary was pleased with her team’s effort, but couldn’t slow North Murray late. Beavers paced the Murray County effort with 12 points while Hatton scored 11 and Osborne (who fouled out and was unavailable late with her long-range talents) finished with nine. 

“He’s got a lot of weapons,” McClary said of the Lady Mountaineers. “I’m proud of my girls. They played so hard. But North Murray’s got an answer for everything. We just ran out of gas and when Aubrie fouled out we lost her outside shooting ability. That’s on me.”

Robinette said his Lady Mountaineers didn’t match Murray’s intensity early, but “I kept telling them our run is coming. Hannah (Long) had another very good game. You know, a lot of our scoring comes from what our guards do.”

NORTH MURRAY BOYS 57, MURRAY COUNTY 41: Gage Early scored 14 points and Lucas Sexton added 10 as the North Murray Mountaineers improved to 6-2, 3-1 on the season. Murray dropped to 2-6, 1-3 as Hunter Ary led the Indians with 11 points.

North Murray point guard Jordan Couch was ejected from the game with 6:46 left in the second period after being hit with a pair of technical fouls. Couch will have to sit out today’s game versus Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Tuesday’s matchup with Ringgold per Georgia High School Association rules.

“Trey Jackson played very well in place of Couch,” NMHS coach Tim Ellis said. “I thought Brody Frazier had one of his better games. I’m very proud of my guys.”

Murray coach Greg Linder said his team’s effort was great, but the execution was lacking.

BOYS BASKETBALL

• Dalton 53, River Ridge 48: Dalton coach Mike Duffie said after his team’s Region 7-5A victory that “any road win is a good one.” But Friday’s win, with the adversity the Catamounts faced to get it, makes it better than most.

After leading by five at halftime, Dalton found itself down nine midway through the fourth quarter. But Dalton closed the game on a 17-2 run to grab the win. A balanced scoring effort paced the Catamounts (5-2, 2-1) with Nick Hurt and Drake McCowan sharing the team-high with 11 points. Wyatt Erwin added eight points and seven rebounds while Jordon McKinney chipped in six points.

• Christian Heritage 44, Fellowship Christian 39: With the game tied entering the fourth quarter, the Lions powered through the final eight minutes to keep their record flawless at 5-0, 2-0 in Region 6-A.

Christian Koneman led the Lions with 17 points to go with seven rebounds. Tristian Blackwell added 12 points and Seth Hutchinson grabbed eight rebounds.

• Coahulla Creek 72, Adairsville 54: The Colts grabbed a lead early and never looked back, keeping their hold on the top spot in Region 6-3A with a 5-0 league mark (9-1 overall). Coahulla Creek had three score in double figures led by Alex Fisher with 17 points. Tyler Phillips added 15 and Caleb Lewis tallied 14. 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

• Adairsville 53, Coahulla Creek 38: The Lady Tigers took control early in the Region 6-3A matchup and carried the lead throughout the game. For the Lady Colts, Lily Snyder and Maggie Linder shared the team-high with eight points, with Snyder knocking down a pair of 3-pointers.

WRESTLING

• Coahulla Creek split a tri-match Friday, beating Gordon Central 66-12 and losing to host Trion 49-25. Brody Smith (106), James Loi (113), Levi Kinsey (120), Juan Rangle (126) and Tyler Morris (145) each went 2-0 for the Colts.

JV BOYS BASKETBALL

• North Murray 51, Murray County 43: Jay Rivera had 22 points to lead the Mountaineers.

JV GIRLS BASKETBALL

• Northwest Whitfield 52, Southeast Whitfield 23: All 11 Lady Bruins on the roster scored points. Alaina Thompson led with 11 points with Malane Kyer adding seven.