MANDATA - Line Mountain reached the halfway point of the regular season unbeaten at 11-0 with a 44-21 Tri-Valley League win over East Juniata on Thursday, becoming the first team in the area, boys or girls, to clinch a District 4 playoff spot, but it was not a pretty win.
The Eagles (6-0 TVL), after a solid start with a 17-4 first quarter, spun their wheels for much of the game after that, according to head coach Mike Reed.
"I don't know if we're getting a little tight now or what," said Reed, acknowledging the unbeaten record and the 28 turnovers the Eagles made against the Tigers (5-6, 2-3). "Our defense got us going and that's our game. If we get after a team, get our press going and get some steals, that will lead to
some quick baskets. We did that at the start tonight but then we kind of settled in and just started throwing the ball around the perimeter, and that's not us."
'Controlled chaos' is how Reed describes the Eagles' game when it's going right, and when that happens, Kasey Long is usually setting the tone. Long scored 11 of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter, and in addition to her points, she had nine steals. That's a career night for most players. but it's not too much more than her average.
The down side to the frenetic defense is that it sometimes leads to frenetic offense, and the Eagles go through stretches when they turn the ball over as much as their opponents.
"We keep telling the kids about penetrating the gaps and trying to work the ball against them. But give East Juniata some credit. They play pretty tight defense, especially inside, and they made us work," Reed said.
In fact, had the Tigers not been ice cold, they probably could have crawled back into the game at some point. But they shot just 6-for-37 from the floor (and 7-for-20 from the foul line) and two of their baskets were 3-pointers in the fourth quarter by substitute Val Leonard, who didn't play in the first three periods.
In addition to Long's 20 points. Mikhail Whitcomb scored 13 for the Eagles. Madison Lagerman had 11 rebounds and Jade London five assists.
Leah Jones led East Juniata with seven points.
Game Summary
EAST JUNIATA (21) - Leonard 2 0-0 6, Horning 0 1-2 1, Maguire 0 0-0 0, Hoover 0 1-8 1, Gelnett 2 0-0 4, Sheaffer 0 0-0 0, Eichman 1 0-0 2, Robinson 0 0-0 0, Jones 1 5-8 7, Erickson 0 0-2 0. Totals 6 7-20 21.
LINE MOUNTAIN (44) - Long 8 2-2 20, Bethge 2 0-0 4, London 0 0-0 0, Ch. Lahr 0 0-0 0, Lagerman 1 0-0 3, Whitcomb 3 6-6 13, Reed 0 0-0 0, Menko 1 2-2 4, Troutman 0 0-2 0, Poltonavage 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 10-12 44.
E. Juniata 4 4 3 10 - 21
Line Mt. 17 6 12 9 - 44
3-point FGs: East Juniata (2) - Leonard 2; Line Mountain (4) - Long 2, Lagerman, Whitcomb.
JV: East Juniata 33, Line Mountain (Caitlin Scott 7) 22.