Wallace-Rose Hill cashed in on 7 of 9 fourth quarter foul shots and claimed a pivotal 43-38 Four County Conference girls basketball victory at West Bladen Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs took a 32-28 lead into the final quarter, but West freshman Erika McKoy popped in a corner jumper, and junior Laikyn Pait turned a Logan Autry in-bounds pass into a lay-up – 3 times in the game Autry found Pait in the lane for baskets on in-bounds plays.
A Pait free throw edged the Lady Knights ahead 33-32. After a Wallace bucket, Autry drilled a 17-foot jumper for a 35-34 West lead.
The Lady Bulldogs went up 37-35, but junior Akira Grimes nailed a 17-footer to tie the game 37-37 with 2:19 left to play.
Senior Justice Carr canned 2 free throws for Wallace, and junior Jerena Purdie made one for West, but Wallace led 39-38 at the 1:30 mark.
After a Wallace turnover, the Lady Knights had a shot from close range, but lost the rebound on a turnover. Sophmore Sedajah Murphy and Carr made 2 free throws each in the final 9 seconds for the Lady Bulldogs.
“We made a few bad defensive plays there at the end,” said West Bladen Coach Rick Rhoda. “We had one where we the whistle didn’t go our way, but we made too many mistakes on defense.”
Pait posted another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Knights. Grimes fired in 7 points, and McKoy finished with 6 points. Junior Kaylee Stevens snagged 6 rebounds, and Autry, Purdie and sophmore Elizabeth Allbright grabbed 4 rebounds each.
Carr racked up a game-high 17 points for Wallace. Sophmore teammates Jordan Maynor and Sara Coston finished with 8 points each.
The visitors grabbed an early 6-2 lead, but Allbright turned a rebound into a 3-point play, and Grimes drained a 17-footer, then buried a 3-point shot for a 10-6 West lead. Stevens put back a rebound for a 12-10 Lady Knight lead at the quarter break.
Wallace-Rose Hill went up 16-12, but sophmore Patience Parker delivered a 3-point basket, and Pait scored again off of an Autry in-bounds pass.
Purdie’s follow shot and a pair of McKoy free throws kept West ahead 21-18 at halftime.
Pait bombed in a 3-point shot in the third quarter to keep the Lady Knights on top 24-22. McKoy flipped in a baseline jumper to tie the game at 26. Another Autry to Pait in-bounds pass produced another lay-up and a 28-28 tie.
“My girls believe now that they can win no matter who we are playing,” said Coach Rhoda. “We are going to play everybody tough.”
The Lady Knights, now 4-4 in the league and 6-11 overall, will travel to Wallace-Rose Hill tonight for a rematch.
West Bladen (38) – Alanna Ludlum, Kaylee Stevens 2, Erika McKoy 6, Patience Parker 3, Kassidy Anderson, Logan Autry 2, Laikyn Pait 12, Elizabeth Allbright 3, Akira Grimes 7, Jerena Purdie 3.
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