Film Review: Martinsville vs. Avon
Martinsville and Avon kicked off their season on Friday night in style as the game would come down to the final seconds. Avon led the entire game, but Martinsville hit a clutch shot late to complete the comeback victory. Avon…
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Continue ReadingMartinsville and Avon kicked off their season on Friday night in style as the game would come down to the final seconds. Avon led the entire game, but Martinsville hit a clutch shot late to complete the comeback victory. Avon looked to seize all the momentum early in the third quarter as junior guards Indiah Kendrick and Genesis Castro would hit back to back 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 28-19. However, Martinsville’s defense really buttoned-down and held them to just four points the remainder of the game.
Junior Pa’Shence Walker scored the game-winning basket after she grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball down the floor scoring a layup with under 30 seconds left to put Martinsville up by a point, 33-32. They would hold defensively and Walker would add another free throw before thwarting a last-second attempt by Avon to score. Below I take a look at three headlines from the first game of the season for both teams.
Both Teams Start Slow
With the offense that both teams have, especially Avon, you would be shocked to hear that there were only 66 points scored in the game. Much of the low scoring was simply due to turnovers by both teams for much of the game. With it being the first game of the season you could expect that they would start a touch slow, but Avon only scored four points in the last 13 minutes of the game. Look for both teams to come out and be better offensively in their second game.
Pa’Shence Walker Came up Big
The 5’8 guard played a huge role for Martinsville. Probably a bit better suited to play on the wing, Walker was in control of the ball for most of the ball. Early on she struggled with turnovers but in the second half, she played tremendously, including the game-winning shot. She never backed down after the start of the game and continually found ways to many plays down the stretch. Walker’s performance was big for her confidence and Martinsville as she ended the game as the leading scorer with 13 points.
Avon’s Offense Will Come
Avon has a ton of weapons on the offensive end of the floor, they just struggled a bit in this one. Guards Brooke Shelton, Kendrick, and Castro will set the pace on the offensive end. Shelton is the floor general and Kendrick and Castro are two players who can really light it up on the floor. Look for them to create havoc and score a lot of points this upcoming season. The D1 commit duo of junior Alex Richard (Butler) and senior Haley Nichols (UT-Martin) are going to be able to provide scoring inside but just struggled to get the ball to go down. Look for Avon’s offense to come around soon.