Turnovers plague Lady Cavs

The Midlothian girls’ varsity basketball team held Clover Hill to single digits in scoring in the first and second quarters as they improved to 2-1 in the Dominion District during last Friday’s game.

The Lady Cavs broke out of their scoring drought with an 18-point fourth quarter but were plagued by turnovers in a 46-37 loss.

Four turnovers on consecutive possessions kept Clover Hill off the board early and the Lady Trojans went on an 11-4 run.

Turnovers continued to hamper Clover Hill’s offensive efforts in the second quarter, but the Lady Cavs clawed their way back.

Kayla Woodson hit a layup in traffic to cut the Midlothian lead to three early and forward Lindsey Tucker pulled the team within one as she finished a fast break play off a steal by Maliha Ataulluah.

Kate Gallihugh kept Midlothian in the driver’s seat with a 3-pointer. Rudy Edmonds converted a steal in the paint by Rachel Mathews into another quick three points to put the Lady Trojans up by five.

Mathews pulled down two consecutive offensive boards and got the put-back each time to give Midlothian a 24-15 lead at half time.

Midlothian’s guards extended the lead in the third quarter with some sharp, long-range shooting.

“It started off kind of rough,” Danasia Pascal said of the team’s outside shooting. “Our coach told us to keep shooting and we did and eventually it fell. As long as we had the inside person getting a rebound, we were confident that we could keep shooting.”

Mathews pulled down 13 boards for Midlothian.

Facing a 34-19 deficit going into the fourth quarter, Clover Hill sent their opponents to the foul line early and often. Midlothian hit 10 of 18 shots from the charity stripe, and the Lady Cavs kept the clock stopped long enough to begin chipping away at the lead.

Clover Hill’s Lindsey Tucker picked up eight of her 18 points in the fourth quarter including five off fast breaks. Cavalier guards created havoc defensively with four steals, which the team turned into six points.

Mathews and Pascal led Midlothian with 10 points each as the Lady Trojans improved to 3-2 overall.

Tucker led all scorers with 18 points and added six boards. Bria Carlisle added eight points to the effort and Summer Curtis picked up five points and eight rebounds. Clover Hill moves to 0-2 in the district and 1-3 overall.