PITSBURG — Returning to action after three snow days away from both the classroom and the gym, the Arcanum Lady Trojans showed no signs of rust Thursday night, rolling to a 71-16 Western Ohio Athletic Conference victory over the Franklin Monroe Lady Jets.
“I think it benefited us — some little nagging injuries and a couple days off in the end did us some good,” said Arcanum coach Abbey Moore. “Obviously, I was concerned. Anytime you’re kept from getting into the gym, that aspect of getting cold and not getting shots up is always a fear of a coach, but these girls are committed.”
That brief layoff showed early, as the teams played nearly three minutes before Arcanum inched ahead 3-1. Once the Lady Trojans found their rhythm, however, the game quickly swung in their favor.
Senior Adalyn Paul jump-started Arcanum with two early 3-pointers and a reverse layup at the 4:25 mark, igniting the offense and setting the tone for the rest of the night.
“Adalyn came out on fire — that’s her role, and that’s what she has to do,” Moore said. “For her to come out like that eases the pressure on some others and calms everybody down. When she makes her first shot, it’s always beneficial for everybody on the team, and everybody kind of gets fueled by that.”
Inside, Caroline Long proved nearly unstoppable. The senior poured in five first-quarter field goals and added two free throws for 12 points in the opening period, repeatedly finishing strong through traffic. Paul added 10 first-quarter points as Arcanum built a commanding 26-7 advantage after one.
“Caroline has been on a roll finishing,” Moore said. “At times this year where other teams have been successful against us, they’ve been able to keep her from finishing and make it really hard on her. They did a great job tonight — even when teams tried to double or triple her — of getting that spin move to the middle. She went strong to the basket.”
Arcanum’s pressure defense continued to dictate the pace in the second quarter, turning turnovers into transition baskets and open looks from the perimeter. Matty Noe knocked down two triples on her way to 10 points in the half, Long added seven more, Paul hit two additional 3-pointers, Dani Michael contributed four points off the bench, and Ella Flatter and Josie Schwartz each chipped in two.
The Lady Trojans outscored Franklin Monroe 25-3 in the second quarter, sending the teams to the halftime break with a 51-10 score and putting a running clock in play for the entire second half.
“We had a pretty rough first half,” said first-year Franklin Monroe coach Carrie Wood. “We talked at halftime about coming out like it’s the start of the game and forgetting what the score is, doing all the little things right, and handling the pressure. We make silly mistakes when we get rushed.”
For Moore, the dominance began on the defensive end.
“Defensively is where it starts,” she said. “The defensive end of things tonight led to the easier opportunities on the offensive end and scoring in transition.”
With the outcome well in hand, Arcanum went deep into its bench and backed off the pressure, taking the third quarter 6-5 and entering the fourth with a 57-15 lead. Noe closed out the scoring with seven fourth-quarter points, including her third 3-pointer of the night, as the Lady Trojans finished off the 71-16 WOAC win.
“The start of the season, we were trying to figure out where that scoring was going to come from,” Moore said. “We’re starting to figure that out. That is going to continue to make us more dynamic and a hard team to prepare for come tournament time.”
Despite the lopsided score, Wood emphasized growth for her young and inexperienced squad.
“We’re a new team,” Wood said, distinguishing between youth and inexperience. “We have a lot of kids that are coming back from fifth to seventh grade that haven’t touched a basketball in years, so we are definitely a newer team. We’re learning to play together, and that takes time to build chemistry. They have come a long way from start to finish, so we are getting there.”
With the win, Arcanum improves to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in WOAC play, while Franklin Monroe falls to 2-12 (0-8).
BOX SCORE:
ARCANUM 71, Franklin Monroe 16
ARCANUM – C. Long 23, M. Noe 17, A. Paul 16, J. Schwartz 7, E. Flatter 4, H. Smith 2, D. Michael 2 – TOTALS 21 8-14 7 71
FRANKLIN MONROE – A. Addis 6, Nichols 6, Figel 3, Riffle 1 – TOTALS 6 4-10 0 16
3-POINTERS
Arcanum 7 (A. Paul 4, 3)
Franklin Monroe 0
SCORE by QUARTERS
26-25-06-14 71 Arcanum
07-03-05-01 16 Franklin Monroe
