January 29, 2009 02:04 pm
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By Justin Albers
For Pendleton News
PENDLETON — Big wins and lopsided scores have become business as usual for the Pendleton Heights girls basketball team.
The Lady Arabians faced two county teams for the second time this past week and then finished with a hot Hoosier Heritage Conference foe.
But, after wins over Frankton, Highland and Yorktown, PH (16-2) emerged from the tests unscathed.
PH had rolled through both Frankton and Highland only two weeks earlier on its way to a Madison County title. The results were very similar this time around.
The Eagles struggled to get the ball across half court against the aggressive Arabians pressure as PH recorded a 59-24 win on Jan. 19.
Hannah Douglas and Mur Hagerman combined for 38 points and helped the Lady Arabians jump on top 20-5 after the first quarter. Douglas connected on 8-of-9 field goal attempts, including both from beyond the arc, as she poured in a game-high 20 points.
The Lady Arabians forced Frankton into 27 turnovers and outrebounded the Eagles 28-17.
“That’s a solid guard tandem,” Doud said of Hagerman and Douglas. “Hannah and Mur are capable of that every night. They might put up big numbers, but what’s nice about that is they also know how to share the ball.”
The Scots came to town last Wednesday night for a rematch of the county championship game and walked out disappointed for the second consecutive time.
In what was an odd game for the very start, PH dominated Highland 44-24 and held the Scots to five points in the first half.
Carlie Morlock led the Lady Arabians with 11 points, but the bigger story was an injury to Douglas.
The sophomore guard went down with a right knee injury early in the second quarter and has been listed as day-to-day. Doud expects her back for Saturday afternoon’s contest at New Palestine.
Hagerman also saw limited minutes and Doud said it was not due to injury or illness but would not elaborate. She finished with seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.
In the absence of the team’s two leading scorers, seniors Amanda Gaskin and Morlock stepped up their games to fill the void. Morlock pulled down five rebounds and knocked in three of her four free throws while Gaskin grabbed a team-high seven boards, including five on the offensive end, and came up with four steals.
In one possession late in the first quarter, Gaskin knocked away four consecutive Highland passes and got the crowd into the game.
“When you have leaders on your team, those are the people you look to do big things,” Doud said of the senior duo. “Collectively, I was very happy with what we were able to do on the defensive end, and we rebounded hard. But it all starts with our leaders.”
Yorktown came into Saturday night’s contest with an 11-4 record and a five-game winning streak.
But the perseverance of the Lady Arabians got them their 12th win in the last 13 games and kept them perfect in the HHC.
PH led by only three points at halftime and four at the end of the third quarter, but pulled away in the final period to post a 44-32 victory.
Gaskin took over the game in the fourth quarter on her way to 16 points and 10 rebounds. Hagerman added 14 points for the Lady Arabians.
PH travels to Noblesville tonight for a Class 4A challenge. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
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