PITSBURG – Franklin Monroe played inspired on senior night on its way to a 76-31 win over Mississinawa Valley.
In the opening quarter the Jets’ defense swarmed the Blackhawks, leading to some easy baskets and propelling them to a lead of 12-0.
With five minutes off the clock the Hawks finally got on the board when Mikayla Stump hit a triple. She would hit one more at the buzzer, but the Blackhawks trailed 15-6.
Belle Cable led the way in the first quarter for FM with 7 points.
The second quarter was an explosion of scoring for the Jets with 28 points to expand their halftime advantage to 43-14.
Corina Conley led the way in the period with 8 points, Allyson Masterson 6 and and both Audrey and Belle Cable each had 5 points.
The third frame looked a lot like the previous two … but turned out to be a monster one for Audrey Cable, who was all over the place and scored 11 points on her way to 16 for the game.
The final stanza was nearly even with the Jets winning it 12-11.
Mississinawa Valley’s Kelsie Hunt, who was shut out in the first half, took over and scored 10 of her 12 points on the night inside … but it wasn’t enough as the Jets took the league win 76-31.
FM was led by the Cables, Belle had 17 points and Audrey 16. Corina Conley scored 16 and senior Allyson Masterson 10.
Mississinawa was paced by Hunt with 12 and Stump 10 in the loss.
It was a game that saw the Jets come out and establish the tempo from the start.
“Our focus and talk in pre-game, this time of the year we have to be playing with intensity, like it’s tournament basketball,” Franklin Monroe girls basketball coach Abbey Moore said.
“It’s about building confidence and believing in yourself and having a young group like this. They have got to believe they can get the job done, and they came out tonight and played like it, and I’m proud of every single one of them,” Moore said.
Before the game the Jets recognized their two seniors, one as a team manager Maddi Schaar and the other a player Allyson Masterson.
It would be hard to overlook the play of Allyson Masterson on senior night, scoring 10 points and charging up her team on defense, and no one was more pleased than Coach Moore.
“Allyson has been a part of our program now for four years, and she deserved a night like this,” Moore said. “I was really happy to see her have success out there.
“We have two tough games remaining in the regular season with Milton-Union and league rival Newton, and every game we play now is an opportunity to keep improving and get us prepared for tournament,” Moore concluded.
The Jets improved to 12-8 overall and 7-4 in the Cross County Conference and will be back in action on Monday, traveling to West Milton.
Mississinawa Valley fell to 1-18 and it doesn’t get easier as the Blackhawks travel to state-ranked Fort Recovery Saturday and then will host Houston on Monday for senior night.
Score by quarters:
MV … 06 … 08 … 06 … 11 – 31
FM … 15 … 28 … 21 … 12 – 76
Team scoring:
MV – K. Hunt 13, Stump 10, Murphy 6, S. Hunt 2 – Totals 3-7-8/15 – 31
FM
B. Cable 17, A. Cable 16, C. Conley 16, A. Masterson 10, D. McVey 6, K. Morris 4, C. Peters 4, T. Goubeaux 3 – Totals 4-24-16/17 – 76
3-pointers
MV – 3 (Stump 3)
FM – 4 (B. Cable 3, A. Cable 1)
