Pictured above: Montrose’s Paley Adams is defended by Mountain View’s Addison Kilmer. (Tom Robinson Photo)
By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
KINGSLEY – Aspen Smith readily accepted the benefits of staring down the challenges presented by an up-and-coming Mountain View team.
Then, Smith made sure Montrose conquered them.
Smith scored the first 12 Montrose points of the fourth quarter Thursday night as the Lady Meteors escaped the closest challenge of their 31-game Lackawanna League Division 4 girls basketball winning streak with a 41-35, road victory.
The two-time defending champion Lady Meteors trailed as late as the game’s final six minutes before Smith did all the scoring a 10-0 run.
“It definitely helps us out in practicing things we need to get better at,” said Smith, who scored 14 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter and also led the defensive effort with five steals.
Montrose forced 22 turnovers, but the Lady Meteors were not as disruptive to Mountain View’s ability to set up a half-court offense as they usually are to the rest of the division.
The Lady Eagles countered with 6-foot-1 freshman center Addison Kilmer, who had 10 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocked shots.
Ryleigh Kilmer, Addison’s sophomore sister, was the top scorer in a lineup that also features two junior starters. Ryleigh was 4-for-5 from the floor, making both her 3-point attempts, and 4-for-4 from the line.
“They have a bigger girl that’s good and they worked well together to get around us,” Smith said.
Montrose had managed just six minutes in the previous 9:48 when Smith drove for a basket to open the fourth-quarter scoring and give the Lady Meteors a 23-20 lead with 7:29 left.
Mountain View scored to next four points with Addison Kilmer finding Lily Sedlak at the foul line for a basket, then hitting two free throws for a 24-23 lead.
That’s when Smith went to work.
Smith’s 3-pointer from the right wing with 5:50 left put Montrose ahead to stay, 26-24.
When Hayley Pompey grabbed a rebound on Mountain View’s next trip up the floor, Smith took off and Pompey hit her with the long outlet pass for a layup.
Smith made two free throws, then Pompey and Smith repeated their fastbreak roles. This time, Pompey made a steal to get the break started and Smith finished it with a three-point play.
“I think that gave us some confidence and boosted our energy to get us going again,” Smith said.
The 10-point burst took all of 1:23 and gave Montrose a 33-24 lead before the midway point in the fourth quarter.
“She started taking it to the bucket and that helped us play faster and score a couple there,” said Montrose coach Todd Smith, Aspen’s father.
The Lady Eagles were not done.
Riley Kilmer’s 3-pointer made it 33-27 with 3:47 left.
“We did things that weren’t smart defensively, which is not a problem we normally have,” coach Smith said.
Mia Snyder worked into the lane for the next five points, completing a 15-3 run to the game’s biggest lead, 38-27.
Snyder finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds.
Pompey had 11 rebounds and 3 steals.
Paley Adams grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots.
Despite Addison Kilmer’s impact on the inside game, Montrose managed a 37-25 rebounding advantage.
Sedlak had three steals for Mountain View.
There were six lead changes and two ties in the game.
Montrose held Mountain View to two points in the second quarter, forcing the Lady Eagles into an 0-for-7 quarter from the floor with five turnovers. The Lady Meteors turned an 8-7 deficit into a 15-10 halftime lead.
The Lady Meteors scored just 21 points in the first three quarters, then had 20 in the fourth.
Montrose, the third-ranked Small School girls team in the Riverfront Sports Super Six Basketball Power Rankings of District 2 teams, improved to 3-0 in the division and 9-2 overall.
Mountain View fell to 3-1 and 7-4.
