Forsan Lady Buffs lose offensive battle with Top 5-ranked Rankin 59-51
It was a match-up of two offensive juggernauts on Wednesday afternoon when the Forsan Lady Buffs battled the Rankin Lady Devils. After four back-and-forth quarters of play, the Lady Devils prevailed 59-51.
“I thought our effort was really good. They jumped out on us quick and for our girls not to check it in at that point was awesome to see,” Head Coach Seth Johnson said. “They just had more bodies to roll in there than we did and we started to get a little bit winded.”
Rankin is a Top 5 team in the state that continues their undefeated season (14-0) while the Lady Buffs (11-3) winning streak was snapped at four games on Wednesday afternoon.
The game began with a fast pace and kept up its speed throughout the entire contest. Forsan scored two quick baskets as Reagan Phillips and Kaeli Woodall swapped baskets and assists to go up 4-2. Rankin then drilled a three-pointer and got hot whole Forsan got cold during a run where the Lady Devils ended up with leading 10-4 before Johnson called a timeout with just under four minutes remaining. The Lady Buffs closed out the first quarter strong and trailed 15-11 following eight minutes of nonstop action.
Forsan began the second quarter by scoring 13 straight points and taking a 24-15 lead. Rylee Evans knocked down two shots from beyond the arc, Woodall converted a nice and-one, and Ella Hoff came off the bench to add four points for the Lady Buffs as they began to swing the momentum in their direction.
They finished the quarter by outscoring Rankin 18-10 and turned a four-point deficit at the end of the first into a four-point lead at halftime (29-25).
“To be able to take all the good things we did from this game speaks to our players' attitude. I think they'll learn from it and be better because of this game.”
Rankin came out with a full-court press defense and began to knock down some three-pointers as they went on an 8-0 run to start the third. Forsan then fired right back to take the lead behind two three-pointers from Evans and Hoff. Both teams were trading the lead and neither side was giving the other an inch. Rankin ended up outscoring the Lady Buffs 18-10 in the third quarter and once again Forsan trailed by four points (4339) heading into the final eight minutes.
The Lady Devils closed out strong and were able to hold Forsan to 12 points in the fourth quarter to continue their undefeated season. Forsan should not be disappointed with the loss however, as they led a top-ranked team for half of the game and pressured them until the final buzzer.
“We'll learn from this game, keep working, and come back better because of it.”
UP NEXT: Forsan will head to Brownfield this weekend to challenge the hometown Lady Cubs. The game will be at the high school and will be played at 11:30 a.m.
Shawn Moran is the sports writer at the Big Spring Herald. To contact him, e-mail sports@bigspringherald.com or call 432-263-7331.