CHAMBERSBURG – The Waynesboro Maidens varsity basketball team hit a wall in their second game of the season on Friday.
After a slow start, followed by gutsy determination to try to make up ground against a bigger Red Lion team, the Maidens couldn’t put any runs together and eventually gave way to the Lady Lions, 44-20 in the first of two games this weekend at Chambersburg High School in the first-of-its-kind Franklin County vs. Everyone Tip-Off Tournament.
“Warly on the pressure had us on our heels, but I think we adjusted, recognized and started passing and getting the ball to the cutters,” said Waynesboro coach Heidi Shaull, whose team lost to New Oxford 38-31 in Tuesday’s season-opening game at home. “As the game went on it was not an issue.”
Waynesboro was a couple steps behind the York-Adams League Lady Lions, whose inbounds press caused turnovers, and whose persistence in the paint resulted in close-up buckets and a 28-8 lead at halftime.
The Mid-Penn Colonial Division Maidens responded to Red Lion’s size advantage by operating out of a 2-3 zone on defense, which slowed down the Lions and forced the issue in terms of missed shots and turnovers.
Waynesboro’s change-up on offense, coupled with solving Red Lion’s pressure in transition – and in the Maidens set offense – enabled Waynesboro to get off more high-percentage shots, though without the results they were hoping for.
“We got off shots,” Shaull said. “I think we were rushing out shots because of pressure on the shots. We were outsized; that was a factor when you try to get points in the paint.”
Red Lion, paced by Bhrooke Axeand Kamauri Gordon-Bey, jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Waynesboro sank its first basket on a layup by Slaydon Fisher off a nice feed from Nikki Davis with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
But the damage was partly done thanks to three Maidens turnovers that turned into six points for Red Lion. Gordon-Bey made the first two baskets. Axe converted on two free throws to make it 8-0, and after Madelyn Pomraning made a couple foul shots, Axe arched a three-point shot to up the score to 13-2.
Kiera Pryor followed Fisher’s move to the basket on the next Waynesboro possession and made the assist on Fisher’s layup to make the score 13-4, still a tough deficit to make up against a full-court defense and an effective motion offense.
Grace Masser added insult to injury when she lofted a three-pointer near the buzzer for an 18-4 lead after one period.
It didn’t help Waynesboro’s cause in trying to rally in the second half that Red Lion came out of intermission and Axe made a layup followed by a three-pointer from Gordon-Bey to push the lead to 33-10.
Addie Shaull converted two free throws for the Maidens first points of the third quarter. Axe then made a traditional three-point play and Gordon-Bey banked a layup to make it 38-10.
Shaull had five points and five rebounds for Waynesboro, which plays Lower Dauphin on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Maidens are back home on Tuesday against West Perry.
