MHS basketball picked up a pair of wins Friday over the visiting Monterey Wildcats. A big crowd was on hand with the Midway Youth basketball players being recognized. A big thank you to Coach O’Toole and the middle school for stopping with their normal schedule, collaborating, and listening to the needs of supporting the large crowd. The teams put on a good show for the crowd with both the Lady Wave and Wave getting wins.
The Lady Wave offense flowed, some would say like a harpoon, on this night much better than the day they played at Monterey. Midway scored 17 points in the opening quarter led by Abbie Parks who was sizzling like a pound of bacon. The senior had 10 points to open the game including a pair from deep behind the arc to put the Lady Wave up 17-12 at the end of the 1st. Parks would knock down another 3-pointer in the second. Midway took a 34-25 lead into the half.
In the second half, Midway was quick & nimble, attacking the Monterey defense and getting to the free throw line. Addie Arms scored 7 points in the second half including 5 of 7 from the charity strip. Monterey would make a run at the lead in the 3rd quarter but ran out of gas in the 4th. The Kid, Kyleigh Cawood, scored 17 points in the second half with an impressive 12 of 15 performance from the free throw line. The Lady Waves would go on to win 60-47.
Cawood led the scoring with 25. Abbie Parks had 13 and Armes 7.
This was a revenge game for the Midway boys. The Wave were looking for a win and anything less would be a felony. In the trip up to the plateau earlier in the season, the Midway boys were in foul trouble early in the first half thanks to one of the most strangely officiated games imaginable. But if there was going to be a problem on this night, junior Dalton Cowell was there to solve it. Cowell would have a career-best performance to help lead the Waves to victory.
The Midway offense got off to a good start. Juniors Peyton Steele, Brennan Reed, Justus Long and Cowell all got into the scoring column in the opening quarter to put Midway on top by 8, 19-11. The juniors continued to lead the way in the second quarter along with senior big man, Evan Lemons, to maintain an 8-point lead, 31-23, going into the half.
Any run that the Wildcats tried to do in the 3rd quarter was answered by Cowell and Lemons. Cowell would bust a left, head to the block and put up 11 points in the 3rd including a perfect 5 for 5 from the free throw line. In the 4th, Reed would slice the Monterey defense like a ninja, cutting in the lane for 8 points in the final stanza to seal the Midway win, 64-54.
Cowell led the scoring with a career-high 26 points, Reed had 19 and Steele 7. Lemons chipped in 6 points to go along with another 10-rebound performance. As a team, Midway hit 17 of 21 for 81% from the free throw line.
Midway plays at home on Tuesday as the Sunbright Tigers travel to Ruff Arena.