Ansley House scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Hancock County High School girls’ basketball team to a back-and-forth 52-48 victory over Whitesville Trinity on Monday at the St. Mary of the Woods Horn Community Center in Whitesville.
Lady Hornets head coach Kevin Husk credited his team for sticking together as leading scorer Carolina Jones battled foul trouble.
“Super proud of them,” Husk said afterward. “We had girls in positions that they typically aren’t in. Carolina’s key to what we do offensively and defensively, and she was playing super hard and got in foul trouble in both halves, so other players had to step up and fill that for a while. It was new to us, and we struggled in it, but they persevered through that, didn’t fold, and I’m proud of them.”
Jones, who still finished with 14 points, 10 assists, seven steals and five rebounds for Hancock County (3-3), scored nine of her team’s first 10 points to give the Lady Hornets a 10-7 lead through the first eight minutes.
However, the Lady Raiders (2-3) responded in the second period, outscoring Hancock County 15-11 to seize a 22-21 edge at intermission.
House produced eight points in the third quarter, and Madyson Higdon added six points, to drive the Lady Hornets to a 40-34 advantage entering the final frame.
Trinity opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 scoring tear to build a 43-40 lead, but consecutive buckets by Jones and House put Hancock County up 45-43 with 3:15 remaining. Trinity tied the contest twice over the next minute, but House put her team on top for good on a bucket with 2:13 left to play. The Lady Hornets didn’t surrender any points for the remainder of the game.
“We gave up so many offensive rebounds in the game, and we went through that stretch where we were struggling,” Husk said. “It was mostly their offensive rebounds that got them in the game, so we just talked about, ‘Hey, execute down the stretch means we’re blocking out and we’re taking care of the basketball.’
“Ansley House down the stretch, and Carolina came back in and found some great passing lanes down low. That really helped.”
Higdon finished with 10 rebounds for the Lady Hornets, Izzy Ross recorded six boards, and Jordyn Waltrip swiped three steals.
Rylynne Meserve scored 18 points to pace Trinity.
Hancock County will return to action Tuesday when the Lady Hornets host Cloverport, while Trinity will play again Thursday when the Lady Raiders host Warren Central.
Game stats
HANCOCK COUNTY 10 11 19 12 — 52
WHITESVILLE TRINITY 7 15 12 14 — 48
Hancock County (52) — House 20, Jones 14, Higdon 8, Ross 7, Waltrip 3.
Whitesville Trinity (48) — R. Meserve 18, P. Meserve 8, Morris 6, Payne 4, Starks 4, M. McDaniel 3, Mills 3, E. McDaniel 2.
