Lady Titans Struggle With Western Hills’ Defense
Samuel Warren
Herald Staff
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The Mercer County Lady Titans (1-2) won their first 12th Region game of the season on Thursday, Dec. 5, when they took down Somerset 63-42 behind 22 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore star forward Izzie Carlton. Mercer hit the road again one day later, with the Lady Wolverines of Western Hills (2-1) waiting on the other side.
Izzie Carlton went up strong for two of her 20 points during the Lady Titans 59-47 loss to Western Hills. Carlton also led the team in rebounds (6). (The Harrodsburg Herald/Samuel Warren)
Freshman forward Malia Campbell gave the Lady Titans trouble in the post early on, but Mercer stayed on top for most of the first quarter. The game developed quickly and it became scrappy. Mercer made five foul shots, but Western Hills closed the opening quarter on an 8-0 run.
The Lady Wolverines made two 3-pointers early in the second, but Annie Releford fought for an offensive rebound and went back up to tie the game at 19. Soon after, Western Hills started to press higher up the court. The Lady Titans struggled with the press, and several turnovers allowed Western Hills to build a double-digit lead. Mercer too often left their teammates alone in the back-court which made trapping far too easy.
“Western Hills has a nice team but we had a really bad stretch in the second quarter when we let the game get away from us. We had some really bad turnovers that led to easy baskets. Our youth showed at that point, and we panicked,” said Head Basketball Coach Chris Souder.
After two quarters, the Lady Titans trailed 34-19.
Eighth grader Cardin Sickles fought hard for an offensive rebound and went straight back up for the first basket of the second half. Mercer’s second basket came in identical fashion, but they couldn’t slow down Western Hills offense. Freshman Olive Frisby played a brilliant pass to I. Carlton down low for an easy basket, but Mercer still trailed 42-25 with 3:49 remaining in the third. Sickles forced a turnover and I. Carlton found her way to the charity stripe for two of her 10 made free throws. Freshman guard Alexa Wade drained a 3-pointer one possession later, and Souder called a timeout. Mercer had built some momentum in the late stages of the third, but a freak accident forced Sickles to leave the court with a knee injury. Luckily for Sickles and the Lady Titans, the injury was not severe, and she won’t miss any significant time with the team according to Souder.
