Girls Basketball - Hempfield vs Canon-McMillan

February 04, 2021

Hempfield Girls End Long Layoff with 61-47 Win over Canon-McMillan

Twenty four days. That's how long it had been since the Hempfield Area girls basketball team had played their only game of the season. The Lady Spartans had opened their season at Canon-McMillan on January 11, where Hempfield suffered a one point loss. Since then numerous postponements and delays due to Covid-19 has kept Hempfield off the court while other teams played on. So it was a welcome sight when the Spartans hosted Canon-Mac at the fieldhouse on February 4 in the rematch of game one. When it was over, Hempfield had evened the season series with the Big Macs, beating them 61-47 on Senior Recognition Night.

If there was any doubt whether the layoff had hurt Hempfield, Brooke McCoy put that to rest as she drained a 3-point shot 40 seconds into the game to break the ice. It was the first of fours treys she would hit on the night, and it propelled the Spartans to a 19-13 lead after one quarter. Both teams leaned on a hot shooter in the opening quarter, with McCoy racking up 14 for Hempfield and Kelsey Wandera hitting 9 for the Big Macs.

Hempfield extended their lead in the second quarter as four players shared the scoring duties and the Spartans put up 12 points to 9 for the Big Macs. Stellanie Loutsion had the hot hand for Canon-Mac in the second quarter, scoring 7 of the team's points. Hempfield took a 31-22 lead into intermission.

Hempfield put the game away in the third quarter, raining four 3-pointers down on the Big Macs, and outscoring Canon-Mac 20-3. The Spartans led by as much as 28 at one point before ending the quarter up 51-25. McCoy added 9 more to her total in the third.

Reserves from both teams saw substantial playing time in the final quarter, as Canon-Mac outscored the Spartans 22-10, with Loutsion hitting for 9 points. But the hot shooting Spartans had built a cushion that would not be overcome as they earned their first victory of the year in a 61-47 final.

Hempfield's Brooke McCoy led all scoring with 30 points and teammate Emma Hoffner added 14, including 3 buckets from behind the arc. Stellanie Loutsion led Canon-McMillan with 18 and Kelsey Wandera finished with 11.

Hempfield (1-1, 1-1) is scheduled to play every other day for the next 8 days, beginning Saturday 2/6 at Pine Richland. Canon-McMillan (1-6, 1-4) hosts Bethel Park next on 2/8.

Watch this link for a full gallery of action photos available for purchase or sharing the day after the game.

Keywords: basketball, canon mcmillan, girls, hempfield, high school, westmoreland county