McKenzie stepped into passing lanes, forced 29 Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central turnovers and captured a 67-32 victory on the road.

The Lady Rebels showed their athleticism, their unselfishness and their and ability to turn defense into offense with frequency. However, for reasons unknown, McKenzie appeared to be a bit out of sync early, which was a concern for Lady Rebel coach Dan Ridley.

"Our defensive effort has been good all year," Ridley said. "But I told the girls in the locker room after the game that I wasn't happy. We made some poor decisions and we didn't shoot free throws very well. We didn't execute tonight."

At first, the Lady Rebels struggled to find their range as Central took a 4-3 lead. However, McKenzie finished strong, affecting nine turnovers and forging a 19-0 run to end the quarter with a 22-4 lead. Junior Renee Crawley had 10 points in the first quarter alone to finish with 18.

That was pretty much that.

"We are more physical this year than we were last year, but we can't run with a team like McKenzie right now; they have too many athletes," said Central coach Dennis Chapman. "McKenzie is very good defensively and we can't play a 60-point game with them."

McKenzie continued the 19-point run into the second frame and lead 27-4. Then Central began a bit of a comeback.
Whitney Owens' three-point shot started an 11-2 streak and the Lady Tigers cut into McKenzie's lead, trailing 29-17. She had nine of those points. But Hope Wyder ended the barrage with her two at the 2:50 mark. Then Crawley scored four points in the final :58 to give McKenzie a 35-17 lead.

Kathy Doupis knocked down a triple and an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Lady Tigers a bit of a bounce to start the third. But McKenzie senior Sarah Hartz rang the bell for three with 3:19 to play, starting an 8-0 run to finish the third. MHS led 56-27.

Central didn't quit, but McKenzie had too much firepower. Brooke Cole bombed a three late in the fourth and McKenzie was up 31, 61-30.

"We have a good group," Chapman said. "We lack size, but we have a competitive team. McKenzie's press rattled us a little bit tonight, though."

Ridley said he was pleased with the win, but was looking out the bigger window.

"To get to that next level, we have to do some of the little things, no matter who we are playing," he said. "The effort was good, but we have to correct some problems and have to get better. It will give us things to work on in practice."

Following Crawley, Wyder added 13 and Hartz scored 11. Anna Trull had nine points off the bench. Hartz and Wyder each lead with six rebounds; Trull had five, all in the final frame. As a team, McKenzie was 26-60 shooting with 36 rebounds and 19 turnovers.

Owens had 14 to lead the Lady Tigers. Nikita Washum and Doupis each scored six. Ernicka Willis scored four and Heaven Wilks added 2.

Central was 9-42 shooting with 25 boards and 29 turnovers.
McKenzie, 3-0, hosts Clarksburg and Central entertains Scotts Hill on Friday.

The Rebels led Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central 39-17 at the half and limited the host Tigers to a 1-14 shooting dearth in the second quarter. In the process, Smith was on the fast track for 300 victories.

The Tigers seemed to say, "not so fast." They cut the MHS lead to seven points before McKenzie was able to regain control for a 63-48 triumph.

The Rebels took a 15-11 lead after one. Then, with four starters on the bench with a bit of foul trouble, the reserves helped pace the Rebs to a 19-3 run in the first 6:30 of the second. A four-point lead was now 20, 34-14. Bryan Huffman got it started with his bucket in traffic, then sophomore Drew Hayes drained a triple from the wing. In between Randy Lacey, Daniel Duncan and Hayes piled on the points. Huffman added a later three and it seemed the game was safe.

McKenzie's zone defense and 15-29 shooting in the first half had Central on its heels.

"And you know what the pleasing part of that was?" asked Smith. "We had four starters on the bench with two fouls each. We had to take them out and we increased the lead. I was pleased with that. Hayes and Lacey gave us a lift."

Central coach Chris Finley was unhappy with his team's play in the first two quarters.

"We didn't play very well at all," he said. "But their zone defense gave us some problems."

The second half was a different story.

Central started the third quarter on fire, hitting 7-13 shots and going on a 15-3 streak to trail by 10, 42-32. The Tigers were back in the ballgame.

"I was impressed with what we did in the second half," Finley said. "We were able to get the ball in the hands of the people that we wanted."

Central's Kerry Hunt was a one-man wrecking crew. He accounted for eight of the 15 points during the spree. Senior Albiro King dropped in a triple and suddenly it was a game again. Lacey and Huffman scored on consecutive possessions to stop the seepage, but Hunt countered with three points in the last :40 to draw the Tigers within 11. They weren't through.

Orey Willis started the fourth off with a threebie then Hunt added another hoop. Suddenly the once insurmountable McKenzie lead was much less formidable at seven points, 46-39. What's more, there was a quarter to play.

"When they made their run, it seemed like everything went their way," said Smith. "We went through a stretch where maybe we had too many people trying to step up and take over. That's not a bad thing, though."

With 5:05 to play, King hit a free throw to draw Central within eight, but that's as close as it would get. The Rebels played keep-away with the Tigers, who were forced to foul at the end. McKenzie hit six of seven down the stretch to secure the victory.

Central had 20 rebounds to McKenzie's 12 in the second half, which seemed to aid the Tigers.

"I was pleased with the way we rebounded," said Finley. "We made some mental mistakes and sometimes you don't realize how important that is until later. But we ran with the ball well; they showed me a different kind of style and we had some success."

"We are going to have to rebound the ball better," Smith said. "But we shot free throws well. We pulled it out where they had to foul us. It's still early and we have some things to work on."
Hunt had 18 to lead the Tigers. Willis scored 12 and King added nine but pulled down 12 rebounds. Central was 18-56 shooting and had 42 rebounds.

Huffman's 21 points led the Rebels. John Craig Howell tossed in 11. John French scored eight while Hayes and Lacey each had seven. Clint Anderson had 11 rebounds. McKenzie was 27-52 shooting and cleared 33 boards.

McKenzie will play its home opener against Clarksburg on Friday, Dec. 16. Scotts Hill visits Central that same night.

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