Girls basketball

North Callaway girls’ 42-34 loss at Hallsville sealed by late shot

Despite being down double digits at halftime, the North Callaway girls felt Tuesday’s game at Hallsville was within reach.

The Ladybirds were two points short in the final two minutes before Kristen Jones nailed a 3-pointer with a minute left to eventually hand a 42-34 loss to North Callaway. At the intermission, the Ladybirds were down 29-17 prior to an 11-5 third quarter that brought them within striking distance.

Head coach Tim Turlington said Jones’ strike was too costly for North Callaway as hitting a shot that late forced the Ladybirds to play the foul game, hoping the Lady Indians missed free throws. They didn’t, and North Callaway didn’t have quite enough offense to support the defensive effort.

“Good on her,” Turlington said. “That’s what separates players right there. I thought we had a good strong second half. One of the things you saw from both teams is fatigue got the legs a little bit. It wasn’t a high-scoring game, but both teams were also playing pretty sticky defense. This was a good game for us to play.”

Natalie Shryock was North Callaway’s leading scorer with seven points but affected the game in other ways with seven assists and a team-high nine rebounds followed by six points and five boards from Lakyn Hartley. Riley Blevins finished with six points and three steals.

Jones led Hallsville with 17 points, knocking down three 3-pointers to go with her three steals. Haley Hagan followed with 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks, and Haley Martin was tough on the defensive end with her seven steals.

Martin was at the forefront of Hallsville’s smothering defense in the second quarter, which was when the Lady Indians built their first double-digit lead. North Callaway responded with similar uncomfortable defense in the third quarter that had the Ladybirds trail 34-28 following a Faith Cash 3-pointer and Blevins jumper off a Shryock assist.

“We talked a little bit about their three-guard weave at the top and wanting to use their post,” Turlington said. “Their first four trips, we caused three turnovers. That was good and is what we want. We’re guarding well. We really are, but we’re just not keeping pace on the scoreboard. Let’s say we knock down two or three more shots — a whole different ballgame. That’s how close we are.”

Boys basketball

Thunderbirds unable to match Hallsville depth in 68-43 loss

The situation against Hallsville didn’t improve this time for the North Callaway boys.

In the Thunderbirds’ second game against Hallsville this season, they lost 68-43 in a road game Tuesday, allowing eight Indians to score and 10 to come down with at least one rebound — three with at least five boards. 

Isiah Craighead surpassed his scoring from the first 67-49 loss to the Indians this season with a game-high 21 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Matthew Weber followed with 10 points and five rebounds, and Sam Pezold had eight points. 

Head coach Matt Miller said after North Callaway’s first loss to Hallsville that Kolton Garner broke loose too many times, resulting in his 21 points and 14 rebounds that day. This time, the Indians had so much more than Garner, despite him finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds and four steals on Tuesday. Cameron Cox followed with 15 points and three steals, Isaac Stinson had 10 points and five rebounds, and Jackson Smith and Zach Jouret combined for five 3-pointers off the bench.

“At any time on the floor, they’ve got five guys that can pass, dribble and shoot,” Miller said. “They put a lot of pressure on you. They’re a good team.”

Miller said it was more difficult to compete on the glass this time without post players Trenton Jones and Brendan Reinhard, but he also said that isn’t an excuse. The Thunderbirds were able to practice with Tuesday’s situation in mind but were beaten by the Indians’ depth.

It didn’t even take two minutes for Hallsville to bring some energy out of its crowd as the Indians shot ahead 7-0 after a Cox 3-pointer, forcing a North Callaway timeout. The quarter ended on a 9-3 Hallsville run that was highlighted by a Smith 3-pointer and Garner steal and score.

Craighead made the deficit after the first quarter 21-12 thanks to a 3-point play. Throughout the night, the Indians struggled to corral the elusive Craighead in transition and at the rim, with the Thunderbirds lobbing a pass in stride over the Hallsville defense.

“We knew to take care of the basketball against their press, and the best way to do that is get the ball in the middle,” Miller said. “Put him in the middle, and he made plays from there. Guys did a good job finding him. We’ve got a lot of guards that are good scorers, but sometimes, we forget Isiah is out there and he’s a good player himself.”

Look for the full stories in the Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022, edition of the Mexico Ledger.