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Mississinawa
Valley senior Maddie Murphy led all in scoring
Tuesday with 17 points but the Hawks fell to
Covington, 45-33, and was
eliminated from the OHSAA basketball tournament. CNO
file photo
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Lady Hawks eliminated from tourney action
Murphy nets 17 to
lead all scorers
By George Starks
BROOKVILLE- Looking for a shot at a sectional title, first year coach
Todd Murphy led his Mississinawa Valley Lady Hawks onto the floor to do
battle with Cross County Conference rival Covington.
Murphy walked off with his group, disappointed.
Leading 19-16 at halftime it was a scoreless third quarter that proved
to be the demise of the Hawks, seeded sixth, Tuesday as MV fell to
Covington, 45-33.
“We came out pretty flat,” said Murphy. “Covington came out hot and hit
a few three’s and we just couldn’t recover. It was an uphill battle for
us the rest of the way.”
Trailing 14-11 after one, the Hawks turned up the heat on the defensive
end in the second quarter.
In the eight minutes played, Mississinawa Valley held the Lady Buccs to
just two points in the frame while only scoring eight points of its own.
“We played excellent defense and to only give up six points to a strong
Covington team like that is incredible,” Murphy stated. “They have some
great scorers and solid talent on that team. I was pleased with our
defense tonight.”
Six of those points came on treys.
The first came at the 6:57 mark by Hope Neargarder and the other by
Rebecca Scholl at the 5:27 mark of the half.
After that, the lights went out on Mississinawa Valley and the game
changed drastically.
Covington set sail on the Blackhawks, outscoring Mississinawa Valley,
19-0, to trail 31-19 with eight minutes remaining.
Mississinawa Valley would not see another field goal until the 3:16
mark of the game when senior Maddie Murphy would connect.
“We had the looks,” said Murphy. “If we could have hit a few more shots
in the second quarter and built a cushion, but that’s us. We can go in
spurts. We can go when our shots fall and then we hit a wall and
nothing falls for us. I give all the credit to Covington… a lot of
defensive pressure and found a way to keep us from connecting.”
Murphy led the Hawks with 17 in her final game in a Mississinawa Valley
uniform.
With the win, the Buccs will face Franklin Monroe Saturday for the
sectional title.
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