Carrollton round-up

The Lady Warriors continued their winning ways as they notched two victories – and both in the Eastern Buckeye Conference, to boot.

First on the docket for Carrollton was a visit from foe Minerva Jan. 7. Normally, when these teams meet, you can throw the records out because you’re in for a heated match.

That was not the case this time as the Lady Warriors clamped down on defense and jumped out to a 24-8 lead by halftime and just never looked back as they went on to win 51-27. Carrollton’s 15-5 run put this one out of reach for the Lady Lions; they did manage to pick up the tempo on offense in the second half, but by then the hole was simply too big to dig out of.

Emma Shafer continued her hot hand from last week as she again led Carrollton with 15 points to go alongside her four steals and three assists. Also having a hand in everything was Kylie Ujcich, who scored 10 points, led the Lady Warriors with eight rebounds – six of them offensive – five steals and three assists. Lexi Bowie was a perfect 3-for-3 beyond the arc as she added nine points, and Kamryn Shaw scored five points and snared seven boards.

For Minerva (2-10, 1-4), Ireland Kirkpatrick led the way with six points, while Ayvah Morckel added five.

Three days later, Carrollton welcomed EBC rival Marlington and again, the Lady Warriors cruised to victory, this time by the score of 50-30. The Lady Warriors took a 13-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and methodically padded their lead throughout the game.

By every conceivable metric, the Lady Warriors outgunned the Dukes. Well, except in three-point shooting, as Carrollton shot an abysmal 6% from the beyond the arc. But when you outrebound your opponent 45-30, and almost double them up in steals and blocks, you don’t need the threes to rain. Furthermore, while the Lady Warriors’ 33% shooting clip on regular shots was nothing to write home about, it was miles ahead of Marlington’s rate of 20%.

Ujcich led Carrollton (9-4, 5-1) with 15 points, six steals and three assists. Ivy Bishop recorded a double-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals, while Shaw added nine points and seven assists 

Boys Basketball

At the beginning of the season, it looked as if the EBC race would again come down to Carrollton and Alliance, the same as last season. West Branch, however, threw a wrench in that theory after knocking off the Aviators. 

On Jan. 9, Carrollton were the next team to fall to West Branch, which, as the EBC season nears the halfway point, is a perfect 4-0 after defeating the visiting Warriors 54-40.

West Branch relied upon a smothering defense in the first half to shut down Carrollton, forging a 27-12 halftime lead in the process. The Warriors were able to whittle away at their deficit in the second half. In fact, Carrollton shaved the lead to six points midway through the fourth period, but some clutch shooting late in the game helped West Branch pull away for the victory.

With the loss, Carrollton watched its four-game winning streak come to an end. Marcus Brooks, Jayven Johnson and Hunter Allison all scored 10 points for the Warriors (7-3, 1-2). Jeremiah Thomas led all scorers with 15 points for West Branch (5-5, 4-0).

Three days earlier, the Warriors paid a visit to Canton South for a nonconference matchup and came away with a 51-46 victory. It was touch and go, however, as Carrollton had to overcome a six-point deficit to earn the victory.

Tayvian Johnson led Carrollton with 17 points and five assists and Hunter Allison added 12 points. Meanwhile, Jayven Johnson logged a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Marcus Brooks contributed 10 points.