Lady Trojans outlast LH
One could not script a performance better than the one on the court at Trojan Fieldhouse Tuesday night as the only two teams that were undefeated in 5A-South play took to the court to settle the score.
With the score tied, 30-30, at the end of regulation, Hot Springs
(8-6, 4-0) needed an additional four minutes to come out on top with a 38-32 victory over the Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves (10-5, 3-1).
Hot Springs senior Jaidan Thomas put up a shot for two points just 25 seconds into the overtime period off an assist from junior Keindia Nevels.
Lake Hamilton sophomore Aspen Thornton attempted a shot a few seconds later, but it bounced out to Hot Springs’ Kiah Beauford. Thornton immediately stole the ball, but her shot again missed the mark. Sophomore Tia Mullenix fouled Nevels on the rebound attempt to send the junior to the line where she made 1 of 2 for a
33-30 lead with 1:59 off the clock. Beauford pushed the Lady Trojans’ lead out to five at the 1:26 mark before senior Morgan Fincham stole the ball and powered her way to the bucket for the Lady Wolves’ only points of the period with 57 seconds remaining.
After leaving the game with an injury with 1:05 left in regulation, Hot Springs sophomore Jaylia Reed returned to the game during a timeout, drawing a foul from Thornton. Reed made one of her two shots at the line before exiting the game for the final time with a 36-32 lead with 45 seconds left in the game.
“I’m just proud about mine coming together, fighting together, wanting it for each other, coming through some adversity, losing our point guard there for a little while and figuring out what’s going on with her,” said Hot Springs head coach Josh Smith. “So, it’s just a good win.”
Shots by Fincham and Thornton refused to fall as time ticked away, but Nevels secured the win for the Lady Trojans after making both of her shots at the line with 10 seconds left. A last-ditch effort by senior Jenny Peake bounced into Nevels’ hands, who held it until the buzzer sounded.
“Missed opportunity — that’s the way I look at it,” said Lake Hamilton head coach Blake Condley. “We knew it was going to be tough.
“We knew it was going to be really hard to come here and win, and I feel like we had our opportunities. They capitalized on their opportunities, and we didn’t. I feel like that’s what it came down to.”
Both teams turned in an impressive defense with Hot Springs taking a 5-4 lead in the opening quarter. Hot Springs averaged roughly one shot a minute in the opening quarter, but the Lady Wolves put up 11 shots, with both teams making two each from the field. Lake Hamilton put up four shots from beyond the arc, but the Lady Wolves could not make a shot outside the paint until the second half.
“This is who we are,” Smith said. “That’s what we’ve got to try to do. We’ve got to hold people under 40 points and give ourselves a chance.
“We’ve been close to it in most conference games. We gave up 42 the other night, but it was the second-half defense that really came together. I thought that was one of the best we’ve looked all year.”
Condley also noted his team’s defensive performance, saying it kept the Lady Wolves in the game.
“I feel like we’ve been getting better defensively every game,” he said. “We’ve really been working on it, and I feel like that’s what’s going to be able to be consistent. We’re going to be able to do that every night.
“When your offense plays how ours did tonight, you’ve got to capitalize when you get some opportunities, and we just didn’t. It wasn’t effort. I feel like the girls played hard; we battled. It’s just our execution down the stretch, so, hey, we learn from it and get better.”
The Lady Trojans took a 7-4 lead with 1:26 off the clock in the second period before free throws by Thornton and Mullenix pulled the Lady Wolves within 7-6 with 4:15 left in the half.
Buckets by Beauford and senior Bre Collins pushed Hot Springs’ lead out to 11-7 before Reed hit 1 of 2 free throws to give the Lady Trojans a 12-7 halftime lead.
“It was that first half; it’s who we are,” Smith said. “We’re going to have to make people earn it, and I feel like we really made them earn it tonight. We kept them off-balance in that first half.
“I thought we did a good job. It was just a hard-fought battle, and you could have flipped a coin on which way it should have went. Nothing but credit to them.”
Lake Hamilton took its first lead in the third with a 7-1 opening salvo by the 5:21 mark, Peake nailing the Lady Wolves first perimeter shot just 32 seconds into the half. The lead bounced backand-forth before Lake Hamilton managed a 24-20 lead with 1:37 left in the third.
Reed put up a shot with 43 seconds left to cut the spread down to two points at the end of the period.
The Lady Wolves stretched their lead back out to four points with a Peake bucket just under a minute into the final quarter, but Collins made a pair of buckets to knot the score by the 4:49 mark. Lake Hamilton took a 30-26 lead with 3:42 left in regulation, but a bucket by Thomas and a pair of free throws by Nevels knotted the score with 20 seconds to go.
Thornton attempted a long jump shot, but a foul by Beauford sent her to the line for a chance to win the game. Both shots bounced out to force the extra period.
Hot Springs turned in an even-scoring performance with six players getting on the board. Reed and Collins each put up eight points with Collins pulling down five rebounds with one to go to what our strengths are steal and Reed grabbing four — our bigs,” he said. “I thought it rebounds and dishing out three was a combination of all three of assists. them tonight … in my eyes, they
Beauford added seven points were all equal, and we had to have with three assists, two steals and all three of them. a rebound, and Nevels, Thomas “You can’t talk enough about and sophomore Jurnee Hicks the guards — Keindia stepping up shooting for five points each. and making big-time free throws, Thomas led the team with nine Kiah stepping up and making rebounds. a couple shots in the lane and
Smith said he was proud of “a doing some really good things, good team win.” Jaylia fighting through it, asking
“When we can play with those (junior) Markiah (Meadows) to three bigs out there and giving us step in in the first half and filling that length, we cause people a little in some time, Liv (junior Alivia bit of problems, and we’ve got Erby) coming in to play some
Oaklawn Park workouts full-court defense.”
Peake led the Lady Wolves with 11 points on the night with two rebounds, three steals, an assist and a blocked shot. Mullenix added seven points with a team-leading six rebounds, and senior Nya Moody added six points with five rebounds and four steals. Thornton put up five points with five rebounds and two steals.
Hot Springs will travel to Benton on Friday to take on the Lady Panthers (10-7, 3-1). Lake Hamilton will host El Dorado (12-4, 3-1).