Lady Rockets win OT nail-biter, 44-40
Darnell Graham
Jefferson-Morgan蘑菇视频 Erin Confortini (15) goes up for a lay-up as Beth-Center蘑菇视频 Baily Minerd (11) closes in during Wednesday蘑菇视频 Christmas Clash tournament game at Laurel Highlands High School.
Jefferson-Morgan's Erin Confortini (15) loses control of the ball while attempting shot as Beth-Center's Kennedy Kuhns (13) defends during Wednesday's Christmas Clash tournament game at Laurel Highlands High School.
Jefferson-Morgan's Morgan Simkovic (3) secures rebound and a putback for two points as Beth-Center's Morgan Darney (2) defends as teammate Kennedy Kuhns (13) boxes out during Wednesday's Christmas Clash tournament game at Laurel Highlands High School.
Beth-Center's Kinlee Whited (33) prepares for a jumper despite defensive pressure from Jefferson-Morgan's Anna Mattish (10), Nikki Venick (33), and Ally Bogden (11) during Wednesday's Christmas Clash tournament game at Laurel Highlands High School.
For the second straight day, the Jefferson-Morgan girls basketball squad won a nail-biter at the Laurel Highlands Christmas Clash with a 44-40 overtime triumph against Beth-Center Wednesday afternoon.
The Lady Rockets (9-1) trailed all of the first half and took their first lead midway through the third quarter. After both teams played a balanced final quarter of regulation, J-M held an 11-7 scoring edge in the overtime period.
鈥淚t was a gritty win for us and I鈥檓 really happy that our girls responded in the second half,鈥� J-M coach Chris Niemiec said. 鈥淲e know we are going to face our fair share of close games in our section, so hopefully this will help us out. We answered the pressure and our defense was huge.鈥�
The Lady Rockets鈥� Ally Bogden had 14 of her team-high 16 points in the second half and scored seven points of the 11 points of the extra session. Bogden made two 3-pointers and was 6-of-6 at the foul line.
Erin Confortini and Nikki Venick added nine points apiece for the Lady Rockets.
The Lady Bulldogs (2-6) got a strong game from Kinlee Whited, as the sophomore forward put up 25 points before fouling out with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter. Mary Gustovich scored five of her seven points in overtime for B-C.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 a tough loss, but we have nothing to be ashamed of,鈥� B-C coach Steve Beyer said. 鈥淲e are going to take more from this loss than from any game this season. It was a tough game and our defense answered the call. We battled the whole night and we are going to build off of this.鈥�
Bogden started overtime with two free throws and knotted the game up at 38-38 with a trey. J-M scored six of the final eight points in the contest with Bogden and Venick nailing clutch free throws in the final seconds to preserve the victory.
鈥淎lly is playing with one arm because of a shoulder injury,鈥� Niemiec said. 鈥淪he came to me and she wanted to just play a normal game with normal minutes. She was the deciding factor for us in the overtime period. She has a good inside-outside game and is a big part of our offense.鈥�
B-C scored the first five points in the first quarter and held an 11-6 lead at the end of one. Whited scored 11 points in the opening eight minutes.
It was a seesaw second quarter, as the Lady Rockets held a 10-9 scoring advantage and trailed 20-16 at intermission.
J-M started the third period with a 7-2 run and took its first lead of the game after an inside hoop by Venick. The Lady Rockets clung to a 25-24 lead going into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, J-M seemed to have the momentum with a 33-30 lead with 2:50 left, but the Lady Bulldogs rallied back with three points by Destinee Irey to send the game into overtime.
鈥淥ur offense comes and goes,鈥� Beyer said. 鈥淥ur main scorer fouled out late in the fourth quarter, but the rest of the girls didn鈥檛 quit. Our guards stepped up late. We are still young. We have to build that confidence on offense and believe in our shot.鈥�