Jessieville suffers senior night loss to end regular season
JESSIEVILLE — Despite a double-double from junior forward Lilliana Fehrenbacher, the Jessieville Lady Lions could not overcome a rough second quarter as the Atkins Lady Red Devils took a 57-49 win to secure the No. 2 seed going into next week’s 3A-4 district tournament at Two Rivers.
The Lady Lions (13-13, 5-9) claimed the No. 5 seed for a 4 p.m. matchup against the No. 8 seed, Fountain Lake
(5-21, 0-14), Monday in Ola. Atkins (214, 12-2) earned a bye until Wednesday’s semifinal and guaranteed entry to 3A-2 regional at Perryville starting Feb. 20.
“It was a battle,” said Atkins head coach Wesley Kuhn. “We knew it was going to be. Jessieville was holding Senior Night, and anytime you have that kind of momentum, it’s something you want to battle for. We knew it was going to be a battle. It meant a conference runner-up to us, and being on the road is always tough.”
Missed free throws left the Lady Lions struggling as they made just 7 of 12 in the first half.
“That’s the game right there,” said Jessieville head coach Magen Scrivner of her team making 19 of 29 at the line. “That’s why they’re free throws.
“That’s just concentration, too. Step it up and hitting those type of shots. We battled for four quarters. Maybe this will get us ready for the district tournament.”
The Lady Lions were up, 15-14, through eight minutes after Fehrenbacher hit one of her two free throws with 7.1 seconds left in the first quarter. After falling behind due to an Atkins bucket, senior guard Amy de Haas made the front side of a one-and-one to knot the score.
De Haas missed the second attempt, but due to a lane violation, she was granted another. The shot still did not fall, leaving the score tied, 16-16, with 2:02 off the clock in the second.
The two teams traded buckets before Atkins went on an 11-4 run to take a 29-22 lead with 3:00 left in the half. Senior point guard Lexi Bassett made a pair of free throws to pull within 2924 with 2:50 remaining as the teams traded shots before sophomore Ashton Dillard was fouled with 11.6 second remaining, making one of her two shots for a 32-26 lead going into the break.
Atkins rolled to a 36-26 lead in the first 47 seconds of the second half before Fehrenbacher made a pair of buckets to cut the spread down to six with 6:13 remaining. The Lady Red Devils stretched out to a 41-32 lead before Jessieville closed out the period on a 5-1 run to pull within 42-37 with eight minutes remaining.
A pair of free throws by senior guard Jaidyn Fortenberry put the Lady Lions within three 1:58 into the fourth frame, but that was as close as they
would get. The Lady Red Devils went on an 8-2 run to take a 5041 lead with 3:14 to go. Fehrenbacher hit a trey 15 seconds later on an assist from de Haas to pull within six, and a free throw by de Haas set the spread to
50-45 with 2:24 left in the game. Fortenberry made one out of two at the line at the 2:13 mark, but Atkins hit a 7-3 stretch to finish the game and collect the win.
“I think we battled for four quarters,” Scrivner said. “We got beat on the offensive boards. We didn’t get blockouts. We shot 19-for-29 from the free throw line.
“Those two things are hard to come back and try to win from. We played six kids. We played tough tonight. I think that if we fix the rebounding and free throws, we have a chance to win that game.”
The Lady Lions started out strong, taking a 9-0 lead in the first 2:48 of the game, but a 9-0 run by Atkins knotted the score by the midway point of the first quarter. Jessieville managed to keep the Lady Red Devils from taking the lead, but Atkins tied the game at 14-14 with 42 seconds left before Fehrenbacher’s free throw left the home team with the single-point advantage.
The Lady Lions outrebounded Atkins, 30-29, but both teams struggled from the field. Jessieville hit a meagre 14 of 60,
23.3 percent, from the field and 2 of 12, 16.7 percent, from
3-point range, but Atkins hit 18 of 57, 31.6 percent, with 1 of 10 from beyond the arc.
“It felt like we lost that one bad,” Kuhn said of rebounding. “That seemed like the worst rebounding we’ve done all year. That and free throws the last couple games has really gotten us, and that’s something that we’re going to have to get better at, especially if we’re going to try to make a run.”
Fehrenbacher finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and a block. De Haas added 11 points with six rebounds, a steal and an assist, while Fortenberry had nine points with four boards, two steals and an assist. Bassett added seven points with four assists, a steal, a block and a rebound. Madison Cummings had six rebounds and Abby Storment pulled down three.
Dillard paced the Lady Red Devils with a game-leading 25 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists.
“The last three or four games, she has just come to life,” Kuhn said. “You can tell she was worn out.
“That’s just her heart. She battles and battles and battles. She put this team on her back tonight and stepped up for us, and we needed it big time.”