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 Just seconds later senior Elizabeth Siebert stole the ball and
tossed a nice pass down court to Hayes, who laid it in for two. Next
it was Hayes with the beautiful assist to Bridge, who laid it in and
was fouled on the play. Bridge sank the free throw and Mount Pulaski
was up 15-9. Bridge continued her impressive play in the first
quarter by sneaking back door for two with :30 on the clock and the
lead was now 17-9.
The Lady Toppers were not finished yet, though. They were in the
midst of a huge run while forcing the Timberwolves to turnover the
ball possession after possession. Hayes would dribble down the court
and decide to go baseline as the clocked ticked away. She hit
nothing but net to end the first quarter and give Mount Pulaski a
19-9 lead, concluding their impressive 15-0 run on Okaw Valley.
Mount Pulaski would suffer a dismal second quarter, though, scoring
only two points off a full court pass from senior Breanna
Rentmeister to Hayes, who was sprinting ahead of the pack and banked
it in for the easy bucket.
Meanwhile the Timberwolves only scored six second quarter points as
both teams struggled to make a basket from the paint over and over
again.
At the half Mount Pulaski held on to the 21-15 lead.
Eric Leever's team ran off seven straight points to open the second
half with freshman Ainsley Chandler igniting the offense with a soft
two-foot jumper. The combination of Hayes-Bridges continued to play
well as Bridges stole the ball and fired a bullet pass to Hayes, who
laid it in and was fouled. Hayes sank the free throw and Mount
Pulaski was up 28-15. Hayes and Bridge also completed the rest of
the third quarter scoring which was capped off by Hayes going back
door with :05 remaining and Mount Pulaski had a nice 35-23 lead at
the buzzer.
The fourth quarter saw Okaw Valley switch gears and decide to start
firing up threes. It worked. The Timberwolves ran off three
consecutive threes, led by Paige Robinson, and were clawing their
way back, 35-32, now the Mount Pulaski lead. Chandler decided to
stop and pop her own trey from the top of the key and it was nothing
but net to extend the lead 38-32 with 5:58 remaining in the game.
Okaw Valley fired right back with yet another three and the game was
certainly within reach for the Timberwolves, 38-35 now the score.
Things took a turn for the worst for Mount Pulaski when Rentmeister
fouled out with 5:12 left to play, leaving a big void in the
rebounding department. Natalie Jeffers would sink one of the free
throws for Okaw Valley on the play and the game was getting closer,
38-36. After the next few possessions featured turnovers and missed
shots by both teams, Hayes was fouled in the lane. She managed to
hit both free throws and the lead was now 40-36 Mount Pulaski.
Jeffers, a sophomore, would take over for Okaw Valley at this point.
She started by sinking two free throws at the 2:02 mark.
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Following a turnover by the Lady Toppers, Jeffers tied the ballgame
40-40 with 1:40 left to play. Then, this is repetitive, but
following another Mount Pulaski turnover, Jeffers would score again
and give Okaw Valley its first lead since early in the first
quarter, 42-40 now in favor of the Timberwolves with just :29
seconds remaining in the game. Hayes tried to tie the game with :15
seconds left but her reverse layup was no good. Okaw Valley would
rebound and following a timeout, the Timberwolves would quickly turn
the ball over.
Mount Pulaski had another chance to tie but with 3.2 seconds on the
clock, the Lady Toppers turned the ball over. This time Mount
Pulaski had to foul quickly if they wanted yet another chance to
tie. A second later Jesse Robinson was at the line and she made both
free throws, sealing the 44-40 victory for the visiting team.
Hayes did finish with 22 points for Mount Pulaski while Bridge had 9
points and Chandler had 5 points. Rentmeister had 4 points and 7
rebounds before fouling out for the Lady Toppers.
The Lady Toppers fall to 3-2 on the season and will travel Thursday
to Heyworth.
Meanwhile the Lady Toppers junior varsity picked up a win in their
home opener, 48-20 the score over Okaw Valley. Callie Anderson led
the way with 11 points, followed by Skylar Hayes with 10 and Shelby
Bailey and Fikirte Mott each scored 8 points.
Morgan May chipped in 5 points and it was Tosha Boyer, Zoey Lowe and
Ainsley Chandler each with two points in the junior varsity win.
[Teena Lowery]
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