The Lyon County Lady Lyons’ defense was the star of the afternoon matinee at Lyon County High School Monday. The Lady Lyons held Ohio County scoreless for two long stretches during the middle of the game as they rolled to a 54-38 win.
It would have been understandable, coming off a big overtime win against Crittenden County, and then clinching a trip to Richmond for the All A Classic state tournament with a win Saturday night over Livingston Central, if the Lady Lyons had seen a letdown against an out-of-region opponent. However, the Lady Lyons simply did not let that happen.
After a bit of a slow start that saw Ohio County take a 7-1 lead, Lyon County cranked up the defense and the game turned into a physical, lock-down contest. The Lady Eagles would hold a 17-11 lead when the opening quarter came to an end.
Early on, it looked like it might turn into a game of attrition. The two teams were whistled for 13 fouls in the first 8 minutes and combined to shoot 13 first-quarter free throws. But, things settled in after a bit, and only one player would foul out by the end of the game.
With Ohio County leading 20-15 just over halfway through the second quarter, the Lyon County defense just took over. Behind the play of Rose Smith and Lilly Perry on offense, and Ella Defew and Calista Collins on the other end, the Lady Lyons would score the final ten points of the half to go up 25-20.
The run continued into the beginning of the second half as the Lady Lyons held the Lady Eagles scoreless for the first two minutes of the second half and extended the lead to 27-20.
Lyon County would essentially finish off the game later in the third quarter. With Calista Collins and Lilly Perry heating up on offense, and the entire team in clamp-down attack mode on defense, the Lady Lyons ran off another 12-0 run to take the lead from 31-28 to 43-28. The third would end with the Lady Lyons in control 43-30.
The defense quickly shut down the potential for any Ohio County comeback, holding the Lady Eagles scoreless for more than four minutes in the final quarter as their lead grew to 48-30. From there, it was just a matter of riding it out to the final 16 point margin.
Freshman Lilly Perry led three Lady Lyons in double figures with 17 points. Rose Smith added 14, while Calista Collins finished with 12.
Rain Embry was the leading scorer for Ohio County with 9 points. Camryn Kennedy added 7 for the Lady Eagles.
Lyon County improves to 9-7 with the win. The Lady Lyons are set to get back to action Tuesday night when they host Webster County.
OCHS — 17 3 10 8 – 38
LCHS — 11 14 18 11 – 54
Ohio County (7-10) – Embry 9, Kennedy 7, Jachimowicz 6, Vanover 5, Probus 4, Bullock 3, Decker 2, Gray 2
Lyon County (9-7) – Perry 17, Smith 14, Collins 12, Holland 6, Butler 3, Defew 2
