Robbins builds fiery 1st half for Lady Lions offense to pace 44-35 home win over Attica

Written By Chris Brooks

WELLSVILLE — Saturday night marked the final time the Wellsville Lady Lions took the court before the holiday freeze took effect across the area. With the visiting Attica Lady Blue Devils in town, the goal was to bounce back from their 38-31 loss to the hands of Letchworth earlier in the week on the road.

Through the first half, Wellsville saw everything swing into their favor, allowing them to take a lengthy lead into the locker room. But not all advantages are secure however, as Attica threatened in the early stages of the second half. But despite the minor hiccups for the Lady Lions, they managed to successfully recover from Tuesday’s defeat, hanging on with a 44-35 home win.

“They hit some threes in the third quarter, and they had a couple of girls really step up to make it a closer game,” Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord said. “We knew they had a couple of decent shooters, and we were in a little bit of trouble with fouls. We were able to sustain it, even though we were frazzled at times. We had great defense to keep Attica back. Everyone did their part, and this was a great bounce back from Letchworth.”

The start of the contest could not have gone any better for Wellsville (5-2), especially for young gun Emily Robbins, who became a first half force off the bench for the Lady Lions offense, scoring six of the team’s first 11 points in the opening quarter, and 10 of her 12 team-leading points all in the 16 minute time frame to get things set up.

It was an 11-5 for Wellsville after the first quarter, as they took time in the second to add to it. Originally through first five minutes of the quarter, there was a defensive battle that came afoot between the two clubs. But the Lady Lions offense sought the basket in the later stages, scoring seven of the period’s first 11 points to put toward what was a 15-4 run in all to collect a 26-9 lead at the half.

But a little trouble hit the Lady Lions at the start of the second half however, as Attica closed the gap with their biggest quarter of the night behind five three-pointers from outside, and the hosts entering foul trouble along the way.

Despite what transpired, Wellsville looked to their defense to get the job done, nearly deadlocking with the Lady Blue Devils across the final eight minutes to keep their nine-point victory in hand.

Finishing behind Robbins in the scorebook was Regan Marsh and Jaylynn Mess, as they both tallied nine points. Marsh led the rebounding department with nine. Marley Adams and Emily Costello rounded off the scoring with eight, and six points respectively. Costello also collected six steals, five assists and four rebounds along the way.

In the JV contest, Wellsville started the evening off right with a 41-31 win over Attica. Paving the offense were both Sara Reitz and Makenna Dunbar, combining to record 29 of the team’s 41 points. Reitz led all scorers with 19 points, while Dunbar chipped in with her 10.

A youthful Lady Lions crew now enters the holiday freeze with five of their first seven games in the win column. For Alvord, that’s a big plus considering the team continues to build confidence after each game they play.

“I’m really pleased with how coachable this team has been so far,” she said. “We’re very unselfish offensively, and we’re buying into playing solid and sound defense. It’s been nice to see all of this come together. The more we play and the more the girls play hard, the more confidence this team builds from each game. Having that complete balance is great.”

Wellsville will return to the hardwood shortly after Christmas, as they head to Bath-Haverling for the school’s annual Coaches v. Cancer Tournament, where they will have a first round matchup against the Penn Yan Lady Mustangs at 12 p.m. The winner will face either host Bath-Haverling or Odessa Montour in the tournament’s championship game, the next day.

Attica               5   4 17  9 – 35

Wellsville       11 15 11  7 – 44


ATTICA: Makenna Jarnot 4 2-2 13, Michele Lin 0 0-2 0, Ellie Newell 2 0-0 4, Mary Weber 4 0-0 10, Emily Gadd 3 2-2 8. Totals: 13 4-6 35.
WELLSVILLE: Marley Adams 2 4-6 8, Jaylynn Mess 4 0-0 9, Emily Costello 2 0-2 6, Emily Robbins 5 2-2 12, Regan Marsh 4 1-2 9. Totals: 17 7-12 44.

3-point goals: Attica 5 (Jarnot 3, Weber 2), Wellsville 3 (Costello 2, Mess).
Total Fouls: Attica 9, Wellsville 11. Fouled out: None.

Chris Brooks
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