A couple Magoffin County seniors stepped up, helped the Lady Hornets snap a losing streak, and earned some praise from their head coach.
Amber Minix, with a team high 14 points, and Lindsey Howard combined for 24 points Saturday when Magoffin County won for the first time in its last eight tries by defeating Allen Central 57-44.
“Our seniors, Amber and Lindsey, had a great game,” Lady Hornet head man Steve Miller said.
Coach Miller was specifically pleased with the free throw shooting of Minix. Magoffin County has struggled a bit from the charity stripe, but Minix canned all six of her foul shots Saturday.
The Lady Hornets, who had lost seven straight to tough competition, took control of a close contest in the second and third quarters and cruised down the stretch.
Trailing by two after the first quarter, Magoffin County outscored the homestanding Lady Rebs 12-5 in the second stanza and upped the advantage to 13 with a 16-8 scoring edge in the third period.
Youthful Lady Hornet performers also made a positive impact as eighth grader Madison Reed scored 11 points and freshman Morgan Arnett hit for a total of 10.
Magoffin County, improving to 6-11, also got five points apiece from Nichole Fletcher and Jamie Castle while Olivia Ward added two points to the winning cause.
Sarah Rife, who finished with a game high 21 points, led Allen Central. The loss dropped the Lady Rebs to 3-12 on the season.
The Lady Hornets will begin a critical part of the 2009-10 regular campaign Saturday when they travel to Paintsville for a 57th District matchup with the Lady Tigers.
Magoffin County, 2-2 against district opponents, is scheduled to return to John Sam Bailey Memorial Gymnasium Monday to host district foe Lawrence County before Johnson Central comes to town February 6.
The Lady Hornets defeated Paintsville 55-51 back on December 11 and beat Lawrence County 66-58 on December 14.
Magoffin County’s two district losses came at Johnson Central and Sheldon Clark. The Lady Hornets will round out the district portion of their schedule February 12 by hosting Sheldon Clark.