Sports
Alexander Lady Spartans Crack Under the Fourth Quarter Pressure
By: Abbey Kay
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The Alexander Lady Spartans let their nerves get to them in the final quarter of the District Semi-finals against the Minford Lady Falcons at Waverly High School where they lost 50-42.
The Lady Spartans held their own against the Lady Falcons at the top of the game, ending the first quarter tied at 10 points. Alexander’s bench brought a lot of energy to the gym keeping their team focused and confident in the first half.
In the second quarter, if was back and forth bucket answering between the Lady Spartans and Lady Falcons. Caitlyn Puckett banked a deep three-pointer at the buzzer that secured a lead for the Lady Falcons at 21-20 going into the locker room.
Kena Rice was a force to be reckoned with by scoring 16 of her team’s 20 points in the first half. Out of the locker room, she made another 10 points. Eighteen of her total points were three point buckets. This game came down to a showdown between Rice and the Lady Falcons’ Erin Daniels in the end.
After three close quarters and entering the fourth quarter with a two-point lead, the Lady Spartans gave up a nine-point run and turned over the ball too many times to come back. An increase in intensity by the Lady Falcons’ defense put too much pressure on Alexander’s guards forcing them to make sloppy passes and take contested shots.
As a last-ditch effort, the Lady Spartans fired out 12 second half fouls to try and regain possession of the ball. Unfortunately for the Lady Spartans, Daniels of the Lady Falcons made nine of her 12 free throw attempts, making the difference in the final score alone. Daniels ended the night with 30 of her teams’ 50 points.
Only three players scored for the Lady Spartans in this matchup. Rice finished with 26, Rachel Richardson with 14, and Jadyn Mace with two.
As the final seconds dwindled down, Coach Jeff Grinstead although overcome with frustration, put in all three Lady Spartan seniors – Kristin Taylor, Abby Howard and Liz Haning – to finish their basketball careers on the hardwood as the clock ran out.
The Lady Spartans ended their season 17-7.