The Jamestown Lady Red Raiders spent much of Tuesday night's ECIC Division 1 game against Frontier holding off the Lady Falcons.
When Frontier eventually tied the game in the closing minutes, Jamestown finally took over.
The Lady Falcons, who never led throughout the second half but never trailed by more than five points, went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 56 with three minutes remaining. But the Lady Red Raiders immediately responded with seven straight points over their next three possessions to take their largest lead of the game, 63-56, with just over a minute left in the game.
Article Photos
Chrisanna Green scores on a break away layup after a steal in Tuesday night’s ECIC Division 1 girls basketball game against Frontier. See additional photos at cu.post-journal.com.
P-J photo by Scott Reagle
Jamestown hit 5 of 6 free throws over the final minute to clinch the victory, 67-62, at McElrath Gymnasium.
The win leaves the Lady Red Raiders (5-0, 8-2) as the lone undefeated team in ECIC Division 1 play. The Lady Falcons (3-1, 4-3) entered the game as the only other team without a loss in league action.
''We knew it was going to be a tough game,'' Jamestown coach Mark Nugent said. ''They were undefeated for a reason. (Frontier coach Rick Mihalik) is a great coach. The kids played well for him. It's a credit to them for giving us such a great game.''
Frontier's Natalie Galus hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to draw the Lady Falcons into the 56-all tie, the first time they were not trailing since the score was 18-18 early in the second quarter.
On their ensuing possession, the Lady Red Raiders grabbed three offensive rebounds before Dazjah Coleman was fouled on a putback attempt. The sophomore calmly knocked down both free throws for a two-point lead.
Following a missed field goal attempt by Frontier, Jamestown missed a shot but Annie Campion was fouled going for the rebound and the senior hit both ends of a 1-and-1 for a four-point lead.
After a steal by Rosa Velazquez, Jamestown ran as much time off the clock as it could before Chrisanna Green nailed a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer, giving the Lady Red Raiders a commanding seven-point lead with 1:07 left to play.
Frontier trimmed the lead to three with a few seconds left but Karisha Tapia hit a pair of free throws to seal the game.
After hitting just 9 of 19 foul shots over the first three quarters, Jamestown hit 10 of 11 in the final period.
''We knew we had to hit our foul shots and our girls stepped up and did what they had to do,'' Nugent said.
Despite the loss, Mihalik was pleased with his team's effort.
''I couldn't be happier with the way my team played tonight,'' Mihalik said. ''We came down here - this is never an easy place to play - and my girls left it all on the floor. We hung with them. We were right there in the end. It was a great game and it was a good experience for all our kids. That's a good playoff-atmosphere game right there.''
It was fitting that one of the Lady Red Raiders' key baskets came off a flurry of offensive rebounds because they dominated the glass throughout, particularly on the offensive end. Jamestown had 36 offensive rebounds, led by Green's 17 and Coleman's 10.
Green had 25 total rebounds to go along with 19 points, nine of which the sophomore scored in the fourth quarter. Tapia came off the bench to lead Jamestown in scoring with 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Campion added eight points, Velazquez had six points and four assists and Coleman had a total of 15 rebounds along with five points.
Galus led Frontier with three 3-pointers and 25 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Lexi Rockey had 15 points and Caisey Lipka added 10.
The two teams traded runs in the opening quarter, first with the Lady Falcons scoring nine straight points to take a 9-2 lead, then with the Lady Red Raiders scoring eight in a row to take a 10-9 advantage.
Jamestown trailed 16-13 after the first quarter but Tapia scored five straight points for an 18-16 lead. The Lady Red Raiders never trailed again but never led by more than five points until the closing minutes.
See JHS, Page B4
Jamestown's full-court defensive pressure gave Frontier trouble throughout the first half but the Lady Falcons settled down in the opening minutes of the second half and the Lady Red Raiders switched to a half-court defense ''just for a change of pace,'' according to Nugent.
Frontier had more success scoring in the second half but so did Jamestown, with offensive rebounding and foul shooting paving the way to a 23-point fourth quarter.
FRONTIER (62)
KLipka 3 0 6, CLipka 3 2 10, Galus 8 6 25, Rockey 7 1 15, Kempf 1 0 2, Woods 2 0 4, Lease 0 0 0, Lee 0 0 0, Totals 24 9 62.
JAMESTOWN (67)
Campion 2 4 8, Nugent 1 0 2, Green 8 2 19, Velazquez 2 2 6, Coleman 1 3 5, Tapia 6 6 21, Davis 1 0 2, Pannes 0 0 0, Butts 1 2 4, Totals 22 19 67.
3-point goals: Galus 3, CLipka 2, Tapia 3, Green.
Frontier 16 9 18 19 -62
Jamestown 13 17 14 23 67
Jayvees: Jamestown 59, Frontier 45