McLeod falls to dominant Martins Mill

WINONA, Texas-They came from the land downtown and conquered the hardwood.

Defending Class 2A state champion Martins Mill shot the lights out as it rifled in 42 points on 14 treys and cruised past McLeod, 89-37, Thursday at Winona's Wildcat Gym in an area girls' basketball playoff game.

McLeod head coach Marty Francis wished his team could have played a closer game.

"It is disappointing to lose like this tonight," Francis said. "We knew they were gonna be tough. We had a great season, and we're proud of our girls."

The Lady Longhorns won their first bi-district championship in nine years.

The Lady Mustangs put up 78 shots and hit on 35. Junior Jocie Bennett connected on five shots from behind the arch.

Martins Mill shot 45 percent from the field, while the Longhorns hit on 11 of 36 shots for 31 percent.

Bennett led all scorers with 19 points, while freshman teammate Mollie Daniel poured in 18.

Freshman standout Tessa Glenn paced the Longhorns with 15 points.

Emma Parker and Glenn scored four points each for McLeod in the first quarter, but the Mustangs got 14 points from Daniel in the first to open up a 16-point lead.

The second quarter was much like the first. Martins Mill grabbed more rebounds, attempt more shots, hit more shots and turned the ball over fewer times.

By halftime, the game was out of reach, and McLeod jogged into the locker room down by 32 points.

Daniel led the Mustang defense as she stole the ball many times. Martins Mill stayed in the passing lanes and made it difficult for McLeod to find inside shots.

The Mustangs built a 48-point lead by the end of the third quarter.

Turnovers plagued the Longhorns throughout the game as they totaled 24 turnovers to Martins Mill's nine.

The Mustangs never faded and were well-conditioned to play at the warp-speed pace they forced upon McLeod.

Martins Mill's Briley Moon added 16 points.

"We made it to area, and we'll set our goal to go further next year," Francis said.

McLeod finished the season at 23-8.

#

Martins Mill 30 27 21 11 - 89

McLeod 14 11 5 7 - 37

MM (89): Moon 5 3-4 16, Bennett 7 0-1 19, Han. Celsur 2 0-1 5, Perkins 1 0-0 3, Camacho 5 0-0 10, Hai. Celsur 4 0-0 9, Daniel 8 0-0 18, Haws 3 2-2 9. TOTALS 35 5-8 89.

ML (37): Glenn 5 4-6 15, Moon 2 3-4 7, Ellis 1 1-4 3, Shepard 1 1-4 4, E. Parker 2 0-0 4, Davis 0 4-6 4. TOTALS 11 13-24 37.

3-point goals: MM-Bennett 5, Moon 3, Daniel 2, Han. Celsur, Perkins, Hai. Celsur, Hawes. ML-Glenn, Shepard. Team fouls: Martins Mill 11, McLeod 10.

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