New Richmond – When Wyoming East and James Monroe met last month in Lindside, East hung around through the first 20 minutes of the game.
The Mavericks never let them get that close the second time around.
No. 1 James Monroe ripped an 18-0 run in the first quarter, establishing a double digit lead it never relinquished in a 78-47 thrashing of the sixth-ranked Lady Warriors Saturday evening in New Richmond.
While the way it unfolded was different from their January matchup, the result was largely the same. Still there were some similarities.
After scoring 16 points in the third quarter last time, James Monroe freshman Lydia Dunlap netted 12 in a frame that saw the Mavericks break the game open, turning a 12 point lead into 20 by the time the third quarter ended.
“These oranges! (Head coach) Shari (Helvey) feeds me oranges and that’s what really gets me going,” Dunlap joked of her third quarter exploits. “I knew we had to step up because last time they came back pretty good on us and we had to finish off the fourth quarter so we knew we needed to stop that this game.”
For Wyoming East it was a culmination of its worst hits from the current season. The Lady Warriors were crushed on the boards again (32-12), lost the turnover battle (18-12) and had just one player (Abi Baker, 26 points) score more than five points on the night.
Between the 18 turnovers and 15 offensive rebounds yielded to the Lady Mavericks, the Lady Warriors lost over 30 possessions on the night.
“I said this numerous times, we aren’t tall,” East head coach Ryan Davidson said. “We’re not going to get taller and I hate to say that it’s an effort thing because I think we try, I just think sometimes we don’t give effort on every single possession. What happens is we may get two rebounds in a row, then we give up two.
“That stuff can’t happen and we have to give way more effort than everyone else because of our size. It’s just the way it is.We keep working at it but it’s going to be a problem and I’m not sure there’s a whole lot we can do about it except just keep trying.”
James Monroe capitalized on East’s struggles, generating 14 steals and turning those rebounds into long outlet passes and layups. That combination resulted in efficient looks that saw the Mavericks shoot 51 percent (33-for-65) for the game and 60 percent (26-for-43) inside the arc.
“Lydia and Monaka (Moore) for the entire year have been so active,” Helvey said. “It’s getting tips on balls and then it gets to another person and it’s obviously one of our strong points. When a team beats us on rebounding then we go back and kind of reevaluate what went on in that game. Lots of times it’s when they have real good rebounding guards too but we feel like we have the advantage in the paint and it shows.
“Monaka and Lyd, just go in endless pursuit of that basketball. Trin’s (Hill) playing really good basketball too. The past few games that rotation of those three have really been key in our ability to score, defend and rebound.”
Baker, who led all scorers with 26 points, gave East its first and only lead of the night on a layup to open the scoring. But the next 18 points tallied up on James Monroe’s side of the scoreboard.
Peighton Griffith struck first to tie the game before Kendall Long capped a three-point play at the charity stripe. Lydia Dunlap followed with a layup before Long again scored from close range. The duo reversed order for the Mavericks next two buckets, pushing the lead to 13-2.
A layup by Moore and a 3-pointer from Mya Dunlap capped the commanding surge that was snapped only by a pair of Kyndal Lusk free throws.
East worked to cut the deficit back to 11 early in the second quarter but saw it ballon to 17 before settling at 14 (33-19) at the half.
That’s where Lydia, the younger Dunlap, took over.
A pull-up 3 kicked off the frame but Baker’s drive kept East alive when a layup of hers made it a 40-28 game. But the avalanche followed.
Dunlap finished a three-point play at the free throw line and followed with two more buckets for a personal 7-0 surge. A layup later in the frame followed by one from Hill pushed the advantage to 53-32 late in the third quarter.
East never cut the deficit below 18 points the rest of the way.
“It’s the oranges, I don’t know what we put in the oranges,” Helvey joked of the halftime snack she gives her team. “Ever since we’ve started those oranges… They start focusing on where we need to the ball to be. Being bale to execute and knock down the shots, that’s a huge part of it.
We start to figure out maybe what in-game decision I can change that maybe Ryan was doing. We made different matchups calls than what we started with and that made a difference for us defensively. Lyd started hitting a couple shots and Mya did too so that helps.”
The slow start proved detrimental for an East team that spent the night unsuccessfully playing catchup.
“That’s been another problem all year,” Davidson said. “It seems like we’re down 10-12 points before we even start playing. We’ve tried to address it in practice – practice harder at the beginning. We’ve done a bunch of different things it just seems no matter what we do we don’t show up ready to play and we’re getting punched in the mouth before we even realize what’s going on and I’m searching for answers. I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t know what the answer to that is.”
Baker’s 26 points led all scorers.
Lydia Dunlap finished with 21 points while Mya Dunlap scored 12. Trinity Hill scored 14 and Peighton Griffith 11.
James Monroe
Mya Dunlap 12, Kendall Long 9, Peighton Griffith 11, Monaka Moore 8, Lydia Dunlap 21, Rileigh Jackson 1, Trinity Hill 14, Grayson Johnson 2
Wyoming East
Abi Baker 26, Kyndal Lusk 4, Rylee Brown 5, Jami Cox 4, Reagan Bower 3, Coley Tolliver 3, Kyleigh Martin 2
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