Lady Dragons hold off Lady Cavs in Bell Game
CULVER — It was typical “Bell Game” drama at Culver on Tuesday night as Argos was able to hold on for a 29-26 win over the Lady Cavs.
A stifling Argos defense allowed Culver just three first-half points, but after halftime a furious comeback effort by the Lady Cavaliers fell just shy.
“We knew they were going to come back. We knew it was going to be a typical Bell Game tonight and it was going to be a battle down to the end,” said Argos head coach Scott Jennings. “I told them at halftime they’re (Culver) not going to give up on their home floor. It’s going to be a game and it was.”
“It’s hard to believe that you can go scoreless from the field and score just three points in the first half and then still be in the game,” said Culver coach Shane Lowry. “Defensively, we did what we needed to do to keep ourselves in the game. We have to be better with the ball.”
In the first half, the Argos defense simply took everything away from the Culver offense.
“I think we did some things to them that they weren’t expecting,” said Jennings. “I’m kind of a man-to-man (defense) guy and we came out in a zone. We wanted to pack things in around Kennedy Jackson. We knew they were a little bigger than us down there, but I thought we were quick enough on the perimeter and we could close out on the shooters.”
“They (Argos) are good,” said Lowry. “They have that will to win. They’re going to come at you. You’re going to get their best shot. They refuse to be beat and this was a case in point.”
Ava Stackhouse had a breakout game for the Lady Dragons with 11 points and three rebounds, leading a talented group of young players for Argos.
“Two or three girls are stepping up and it’s really been the last two weeks,” said Jennings. “They’re stepping up. They’re starting to look like varsity players now and we need that.”
Kennedy Jackson had all the Culver points until Grace Sieber hit a free throw with 3:36 in the third quarter. From there the Lady Cavs would start their comeback run. Rose Peterson was a one-person wrecking crew in the fourth quarter with three 3s in the final eight minutes along with an assist and three big rebounds.
“We knew everything was was going
to run through Kennedy (Jackson). She was going to do some damage down there and she did,” said Jennings. “And that opens up Peterson for some 3s out there and she knocked down a few in the second half.”
“We scratch, claw, do everything we can to have a chance, but we make a mistake in the free throw lane and it is what it is,” said Lowry “That’s kind of typical of the night and I can’t fault our second-half effort to get back into it.
I mean we could have just packed it in and went to Thanksgiving. I guess that’s the bottom line to it. We’re teaching lessons every day and lessons are very easy to learn on what we did tonight. We have to get back in the gym and start working on what we have to work on. That’s got to go forward.”
Argos is .500 at 3-3 for the year. Culver is now 3-5. • ARGOS 29, CULVER 26 At Culver
Culver 3 3 11 26
Argos 7 17 19 29
CULVER (26) — Sieber 2 1-4 5, Berndt 0 0-0 0, Hamilton 0 0-0 0, Peterson 4 0-0 12, Overmyer 0 0-0 0, Garland 0 0-0 0, Williams 1 0-1 2, Jackson 2 3-5 7. Totals 9 4-10 26.
ARGOS (29) — Binkley 2 2-3 6, Stults 2 2-3 6, Dunlap 2 1-2 5, Barcus 0 0-0 0, Stackhouse 5 0-1 10, Bollenbacher 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 5-9 29.
3 Pt. FG — Argos none, Culver 4 (Peterson 4).
Rebounds — Argos 26 (Bollenbacher 9), Culver 25 (Peterson 8).
Assists — Argos 3 (Barcus 2), Culver 2 (Peterson, Williams). Steals — Argos 6 (Dunlap 2), Culver 10 (Sieber 3). Turnovers — Argos 15, Culver 15.