Lady Warriors withstand Martinsville rally to secure road win

Featured Photo Caption: Lucy Moore rises up for two points over the Martinsville defense. Moore powered the Lady Warriors with a double-double, recording 15 points and 12 rebounds. —photo by Terri Cox

By Terri Cox

MARTINSVILLE – The Casey-Westfield Lady Warriors traveled east to Martinsville on Thursday night for a non-conference varsity showdown against the Lady Bluestreaks. Despite a furious third-quarter rally by the hosts, the Purple and Gold held their ground to secure a 45-36 victory.

It took nearly a minute and a half for either side to find the bottom of the net. Martinsville broke the ice with a pair of free throws for a 2-0 lead. Lucy Moore responded for Casey-Westfield, taking a feed from Gylly Gilbert to knot the score at 2-2.

After the host squad split a pair of free throws to briefly retake the lead, Julia Eckerty answered with a free throw of her own to tie the game at 3-3. Eckerty returned to the line shortly after, hitting one of two to give CW a 4-3 advantage with 3:33 remaining in the opening frame. The Lady Warriors closed the quarter strong with baskets from Eckerty, Moore, and Chloe Taylor to hold a 10-5 lead.

Martinsville opened the second quarter with a three-pointer to cut the gap to 10-8. The Lady Warriors responded immediately as Moore scored off an assist from Eckerty to push the lead back to four.

The Lady Bluestreaks pulled within two again, but the passing of Eckerty sparked a CW run. Gracie Taylor converted a feed from Eckerty, and moments later, Eckerty found Moore for an open look to extend the lead to 16-10. Another basket by Gracie Taylor, followed by a score from Chloe Taylor, pushed the advantage to 20-10 with under two minutes remaining in the half.

Martinsville converted a traditional three-point play to stop the run, but a final bucket by Moore sent the Lady Warriors into the locker room with a 22-13 halftime lead.

The momentum shifted coming out of the break. The Lady Bluestreaks opened the third quarter on fire, scoring eight straight points to slice the deficit to a single point, 22-21.

Eckerty stopped the bleeding with a basket to expand the lead to three, but Martinsville answered quickly with a field goal. Although Moore and Gilbert added baskets for CW with 3:30 left in the period, a three-pointer by the Lady Bluestreaks kept the game tight at 28-26. The teams traded baskets to close the frame, with CW clinging to a slim 32-29 lead heading into the fourth.

Martinsville struck first in the final quarter to once again pull within one, 32-31. However, the Lady Warriors composed themselves. Moore found Chloe Taylor open for a crucial basket, and on the next possession, Eckerty set up Gilbert to extend the lead to 36-31.

Gracie Taylor and Eckerty added consecutive baskets to push the advantage to nine, 40-31. Forced to foul down the stretch, Martinsville sent CW to the line, where the Lady Warriors hit enough free throws to seal the 45-36 win.

Lucy Moore led the way for Casey-Westfield with a double-double performance, recording a team-high 15 points and 12 rebounds. She also tallied three blocked shots, two assists, and two deflections.

Julia Eckerty orchestrated the offense, finishing with 10 points and eight assists while adding five rebounds and two steals. Chloe Taylor chipped in eight points, four rebounds, and two steals. Gylly Gilbert and Gracie Taylor each contributed six points, with Gilbert adding two assists and Gracie Taylor grabbing three boards.

For Martinsville, Charity Hammond led all scorers with a game-high 20 points.

Game Summary

Score by Quarters

Individual Statistics

• SCORING (CW): Moore 15, Eckerty 10, C. Taylor 8, Gilbert 6, G. Taylor 6.

• SCORING (MV): C. Hammond 20, Kannmacher 9, H. Hammond 4, Reed 3.

• REBOUNDING (CW): Moore 12, Eckerty 5, C. Taylor 4, G. Taylor 3, Gilbert 2, Clark 2, Gray 1.

• ASSISTS (CW): Eckerty 8, Moore 2, Gilbert 2, Gray 1.

• STEALS (CW): Eckerty 2, C. Taylor 2, Clark 2, Gilbert 1, Gray 1.

• BLOCKS (CW): Moore 3.