Lady Mohawks fall to Hughes and Hoxie

The Piggott Lady Mohawks continue to have a rough 2008, as the girls dropped two more conference games in the past week. Last Friday the Tribe made the long trip to Hughes and fell by three points, Monday night Hoxie visited PHS and dealt the girls a 14 point loss.

At Hughes last week the Tribe got off to a slow start, but were able to hang with the Lady Blue Devils behind a strong inside game. Kenna Dennis had several early rebounds, and baskets, to make her presence felt in the early going. As the first quarter drew to a close the Blue Devils got a running jumper at the buzzer to take the lead 10-9.

The second quarter was more of the same, as the two teams swapped baskets for much of the period. Mid-way through the quarter the Blue Devils pulled out to a four point lead, but a basket by Dennis and two free-throws from Dana Emerson tied the game once again. As they did in the first quarter the Lady Blue Devils got a jumper at the buzzer to take a two point lead into the locker room 23-21.

The third quarter started slowly for the Tribe as the home team went on a 5-0 run. The drought ended with Hillary French three-pointer with 4:45 to play in the quarter. The Lady Mohawks then went on a 4-0 run of their own, and got a big three-pointer from Jordan Engle. The period also saw one of two technical fouls called on the Blue Devils. Stepping-up the intensity, the Hughes squad outscored the Tribe 14-7 in the quarter and extended their lead to 37-28 going into the final frame.

The fourth quarter saw the Lady Blue Devils extend their lead to 10 points, only to see the Tribe battle back. Dennis returned after sitting with foul trouble, and was able to gain more control in the paint. The Mohawks got a couple of big three-pointers from French and Michelle Greaney and pulled back to within two points by the 4:40 mark.

Down the stretch the two teams swapped baskets as neither squad could gain an advantage, with the Lady Blue Devils hanging-on for the 55-52 win.

Leading the way for the Mohawks was Dennis with 18 points, French finished with 11, Greaney had eight, Engle finished with seven, Emerson had six and Natalie Branscum had two points. Jasmine Troupe led all scorers for the Lady Blue Devils with 25.

Piggott vs Hoxie

Monday night the Hoxie Lady Mustangs visited the new PHS gym for the first time, and ran past the Lady Mohawks 68-54. The Piggott squad had three players in double figures on the night, led by senior Jordan Engle with 16.

Cursed with slow starts this year, the Tribe struggled early and saw the Mustangs run out to a 24-11 lead by the end of the first quarter. The second period was much the same with Hoxie extending their lead to 42-23 by the halftime break.

Both teams stepped-up their defensive effort in the third quarter, and the scoreboard reflected the difference. The Lady Mohawks could only muster six points in the quarter, while the Lady Mustangs tacked-on 14 more. Going into the fourth quarter Hoxie led by a score of 56-29. It was in the fourth frame that the Lady Mohawks showed their resolve, as they outscored the visitors 25-12 to reach the final score of 54-68.

Along with Engle's 16 points the Tribe got 11 points from Michelle Greaney and 10 points off the bench from Kaitlin Morgan. Also scoring for the Mohawks were Emerson and Penny McCluskey with six each, Sheleen Johnson had three and Taylor Coomer added two more bench points for Coach Josh Robins. Jessica Barber led all scorers for the Lady Mustangs with 18. As a team the Mohawks were 13 of 21 from the free-throw line while Hoxie converted seven times on 26 attempts.

With the losses to Hughes and Hoxie the Lady Mohawks fall to 4-11 overall and 3-8 in conference play. They're scheduled to visit Harrisburg Thursday night and will travel to Naylor next Monday marking a homecoming for Coach Robins. For the past four season Robins was the boy's coach at Naylor.