Lady Warriors Place Third In MAC Tournament

The Leyton Lady Warrior basketball team started the 2020 MAC Tournament by hosting the Potter-Dix Lady Coyotes on Tuesday Jan. 21, and the heavily favored Leyton squad made quick work of the Lady Coyotes, blasting out 18 straight points to open the game before the Lady Coyotes finally put points on the board with about two minutes left in the first period. The Lady Warriors used a full press defense, causing turnovers and bad passes and offering no good looks whenever the Lady Coyotes had a shot opportunity. Leading 28-to-7 at the end of the first period, Leyton continued the defensive pressure and continued to score, building an insurmountable 49-to-11 at halftime on their way to a 63-to-22 rout of Potter-Dix. Leyton junior Ella Draper led the scoring with 19 points, knocking down three 3-pointers in the victory.

Leyton then had to face the Bayard Lady Tigers in the semi-final round in Bridgeport on Thursday, and a round of flu that had been circulating throughout the area started to take its toll on the Lady Warriors. The Leyton squad seemed to be a step off as they fell behind and struggled against the Bayard press. The Lady Warrior's usually solid outside shooting faltered, and Leyton found themselves in a 18-to-6 hole at the end of the first period. But the Leyton girls got their second wind and played a solid second quarter, putting up 18 points with junior Sage Rummel hitting a three point shot at the halftime buzzer. However, Leyton's defense was only able to slow the Lady Tigers' offense and still trailed 32-to-24 at halftime. Leyton was a paltry 3-for-11 at the foul line in the first half, accounting for much of the eight point deficit. The Lady Warriors continued to struggle against the Bayard press and continued to miss free throw opportunities. Coupled with an inordinate amount of turnovers, the deficit was too much for Leyton to overcome, and they fell by a final score of 58-to-48. Senior Madelyn Watchorn had 19 points to lead all scorers, but 29 total turnovers and 10 missed free throws were too much for the Lady Warriors to overcome, and Leyton moved on to the third place consolation game Saturday afternoon.

Saturday's consolation game against the Garden County Lady Eagles was a tough and physical game, with both teams playing well, resulting in a 22-to-18 Leyton lead at halftime. As the second half continued and with the teams battling back and forth, it was Leyton that was able to convert an a few key opportunities in the fourth quarter to pull away and earn the 44-to-34 victory. Watchorn again led the scoring with 16 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in the win.

After the tournament, Leyton Head Coach Jed Benish said, "I was really proud of the girls on both nights, with most of my players being sick during the week. We didn't even get to practice on Friday due to illness, but we were able to go out and play better defense on Saturday. Our fast break and shooting suffered a bit due to our team health, but it was a good team win. We have a light week this week and hopefully we can get our health back and finish strong."

South Platte defeated Bayard 53-to-49 to take the MAC Tournament championship later Saturday evening.

Leyton is next scheduled to travel to face Minatare on Friday.