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Anderson, Martin Co. West quiet Cyclones in 2A South clash

HANDLING PRESSURE — Martin County West’s Emily Anderson dribbles past St. Clair’s Emily Olson (back left) and around Cyclones defender Kayli Hinze (10) while looking at Maverick teammate Kari Matejka (lower left) during Section 2A, South Sub-Section semifinal basketball action Friday night in Trimont. (Photo by Kyle McAreavy)

TRIMONT — The Mavericks are on to the finals.

No. 2-seeded Martin County West beat the No. 3-seeded St. Clair Cyclones, 62-53, during Section 2A ,South Sub-Section semifinal basketball action Friday night in Trimont.

With the win, the Mavericks (14-5) move on to face top-seeded Waterville-Elysian-Morristown in the South sub-section final at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Waterville. The Buccaneers (17-3) beat No. 5-seeded Springfield 54-38 in their semifinal matchup Friday in Waterville.

“We have to be composed on offense and we have to be disciplined on defense,” MCW head coach Rodger Taylor said of his team’s matchup with the No. 1 seed. ” … We have to play our game, play within our means and we have to be better than them once.”

St. Clair ended its season with a 10-6 record.

The Mavericks took a 31-20 lead into the halftime break, then St. Clair opened the second half with a 21-12 run to bring the Cyclones within 43-41 with 8:50 left in the matchup.

Emily Dunlop started a Maverick run with a free throw to extend the lead, then Liv Borchardt hit two more attempts from the charity stripe before Marissa Whitehead used a spin move in the post for two more points to bring MCW’s lead to 48-41 with 6:43 left.

Stephanie Cink hit two free throws for the Cyclones to break the Mavericks’ streak, but Emily Anderson connected on back-to-back 3s for six of her team-high 16 points to put the MCW lead at 54-43.

The Mavericks combined to hit 8 of 14 free throws in the final four minutes to hold onto their lead, while the Cyclones connected on 6 of 6 free throws and Kayli Hinze hit two layups for four of her game-high 28 points.

“Emily (Anderson) hit a couple of big 3s, and those shots, you’re hesistant, but those are big boosters in so many ways,” Taylor said. “To extend the lead that much that quickly, it makes a big difference. We defended well enough.”

The Mavericks jumped ahead to start the game.

Kari Matejka used one of her co-game-high three assists to help Anderson on the first of her four 3s, then Anderson assisted Dunlop with a post-entry pass to put MCW up 5-0.

Katie Lange then assisted Whitehead with a post-entry pass before Whithead assisted Dunlop on a second-chance opportunity to put the Mavericks up 9-0 with 15:50 left in the first half.

Cink broke the Cyclones’ initial scoreless drought with a 3 from the left corner off a Michaela Prange assist, then Emily Olson stole a pass at midcourt and threw it ahead to Hinze for a fastbreak layup.

Hinze scored five of the Cyclones’ next seven points to bring the matchup to a tie at 13, then the Mavericks stormed into the break.

Dunlop assisted Thea Anderson for a layup, then Rubi Reyes assisted Dunlop with a drive-and-dish into the post for two more. Borchardt tossed the ball to Reyes for a 3 from the right wing, then Whitehead faked a pass on the left wing and drove to a left-handed finish for another 2.

Matejka then assisted Emily Anderson with a post-entry pass to complete the Mavericks’ 11-0 run.

“We knew it would be a tough game, they (Cyclones) are very physical and aggressive, but our girls stepped up to the challenge,” Taylor said. “I’m very proud of our girls for the effort tonight.”

It was a foul-filled matchup, with one player on each team fouling out and three Cyclones ending with four fouls.

The Mavericks made 16 of 27 attempts from the charity stripe, while St. Clair hit 13 of 19 tries.

MCW made 20 of 48 shots from the field, including 6 of 20 from 3, while the Cyclones connected on 17 of 57 shots and 6 of 27 from deep range.

Emily Anderson led the Mavericks with 16 points, while Matejka totaled 13 points, four boards and three assists. Dunlop dropped 10 points and brought down seven caroms, while Whitehead scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists.

Reyes and Borchardt each grabbed eight rebounds for the Mavericks.

Hinze complemented her 28-point performance with a game-high nine boards, while Olson had 10 points, four rebounds and four steals for the Cyclones. Maddy Lynch and Madison Daly each contributed five rebounds to the Cyclones’ efforts.

St. Clair 20-33–53

MCW 31-31–62

MCW (62)

E. Anderson 5-12 2-2 16, Matejka 4-10 4-8 13, Dunlop 3-6 4-6 10, Whitehead 3-5 2-4 8, Lange 3-3 0-0 6, Reyes 1-7 2-2 5, T. Anderson 1-3 0-3 2, Borchardt 0-2 2-2 2, Larson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-48 16-27 62.

ST. CLAIR (53)

Hinze 10-23 6-7 28, Olson 3-20 2-4 10, Cink 2-7 2-2 7, Prange 1-3 0-0 3, Lynch 0-1 3-4 3, Vaughan 1-2 0-2 2, Daly 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 17-57 13-19 53.

3-pointers: MCW 6-20 (E. Anderson 4-10, Matejka 1-5, Reyes 1-5); St. Clair 6-27 (Olson 2-11, Hinze 2-6, Prange 1-3, Cink 1-6). Fouled out: Whitehead (MCW), Cink (SC). Rebounds: 41 (Dunlop, Reyes & Borchardt 8 each); St. Clair 25 (Hinze 9, Lynch & Daly 5 each). Assists: MCW 14 (Matejka & Whitehead 3 each); St. Clair 7 (Hinze 3). Steals: MCW 3; St. Clair 11 (Olson 4). Blocks: MCW 5 (Dunlop 3).

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