Midway through the third quarter, things were looking really good for the Webbers Falls Lady Warriors in their Class A Regional Tournament consolation quarterfinal game against the Afton Lady Eagles on Friday afternoon on Buddy “Bill” Spencer Court at Cameron Arena at Cameron High School.
However, the Lady Eagles ended up flying past the Lady Warriors for a 34-31 victory to eliminate the Webbers Falls girls from the Class A basketball playoffs.
In the third quarter, the Lady Warriors (1311) had two nine-point leads, with the last time being at 25-16 with 4:56 left in the period on a pair of Cheyanne Herrier free throws.
However, the Lady Eagles (17-10) went on an 11-0 run, capped by a 3-point basket by Katee Shouse with 1:47 remaining in the quarter to give Afton its first lead since the early stages of the first quarter at 27-25.
The Lady Warriors regained the lead as a 3-pointer by River Harrison and a free throw by Bailey Ward put Webbers Falls ahead 2927 after three periods.
Afton’s fourth-quarter rally doomed the Lady Warriors as the Lady Eagles outscored them 7-2.
Abbie Patterson’s basket for the Lady Warriors with 6:57 left to play put Webbers Falls ahead 31-27. It proved to be the last points scored by the Lady Warriors both in the game and for the season.
The Lady Eagles scored the game’s final seven points to earn the come-from-behind win, and stave off elimination for at least one day.
A two-point basket and a trey by Afton’s Maddie Cook, who scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Lady Eagles, put her team ahead 5-0 with 6:01 left in the first quarter.
The Lady Warriors ended the period with a 12-2 run to take a 12-7 lead after the first eight minutes.
The Lady Eagles opened the second quarter with a 7-3 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Melanea Sanders with 1:36 left in the first half, to cut the Afton deficit to 15-14, but a trey by Herrier 13 seconds later upped the Webbers Falls’ advantage to 18-14 at halftime.
A pair of Herrier free throws with 4:56 left in the third quarter capped a 7-2 run by the Lady Warriors to see their lead get to nine points for the second time in the period at 25-16, setting up Afton’s rally over the final 12-plus minutes of game time.
In defeat, Bailey Ward led Webbers Falls with eight points, followed by Patterson with seven points, Herrier and Bridgette Baer — both playing their final game as a Lady Warrior — with five points each and Harrison and Madison Smith with three points apiece.
DAVID SEELEY
