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| 1/3/2010 11:58:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Lady Rams slide by Mustangs
By Virginia Bandy
Ada Herald Editor
Senior Katie Hicks scored 19 of her 23 points during the first half to lead the Lady Rams to victory over the visiting Allen East Mustangs, 47-41. USV improves to 5-3 while AE drops to 3-6.
"It's a 'W'," said Ram Head Coach Mike Risner. "She (Katie) came out looking like she was ready to play...I'm not sure the rest of the team was ready to play."
Risner did note that the free throw percentage was key in the game. The Lady Rams were 15 of 17 in the contest. "If we don't knock down the free throws, we're in trouble," he said.
It was a seesaw battle in the first period to see who would retain the lead, but the Rams and Mustangs kept pace with each other until the final 30 seconds when four USV free throws put them on top 12-9 going into the second. Allen East had come out swinging with a score by Sabrina Crist within eight seconds of the start. Ram markers were tallied by Hicks and Morgan Hunsicker before Mustang Kayla Crow could nail a putback off of a Hannah Winegardner miscue. Crow then tied the game at 4-4 with her first free throws. Crow was top scorer for AE with 20, but she was only 8 of 12 at the line.
"I told her (Kayla) going into the game that I felt...she could be the best post player on the floor if she wanted to be," said Mustang Head Coach Dave Moritz. "She proved what she can do."
The second period began with a series of steals, with the first committed by Winegardner, who grabbed the ball from Whitney Carroll and executed a layup for two points. On the next Ram possession, Winegardner took the ball again, but USV's Hicks snatched it right back. However, the feed to Carroll did not result in any points, leaving the score at 12-11. Several bad passes and traveling calls later, Hicks nailed a trey to increase the lead to four points. She fired one in again on the next Ram possession to put USV on top 18-11. AE couldn't recover in points, and were down 30-20 at the half.
Coming out from the locker room at the half, the Lady Rams started to show some wear and tear in the game - missing their shots and not taking care of the ball. Allen East was the first to score off of a Crow layup. Bad Ram dribbling led to AE's Shelby Richardson stealing the ball and getting fouled while attempting to score. She made her two free throws to cut the Ram lead down to six. USV rallied with two charity tosses and a three-pointer by Carroll. Crow nailed another bucket, but it wasn't until there was two minutes remaining that anyone else put points on the board. The Rams only led 37-29 at the end of the third period.
The final stanza showed a rally by the Mustangs after a shot by USV's post Critten was made, then AE's Crow scored, and then Crist stole the ball and scored again to bring AE within four points. Crow was fouled under the basket and made one free throw to cut the lead to three. Critten sank another jumper after a Carroll miscue. A long possession by the Rams ended with Hicks at the free throw line, nailing two baskets.
AE got to within two points after two free throws by Crow and a trey by Shelby Richardson. It was the closest they would get. Hicks was fouled and made both tosses, and then Carroll was fouled, and she landed her two free throws as well.
USV coach Risner praised the Mustangs on the defensive comeback in the final periods, which kept Hicks from scoring as many points. "We didn't get her (Katie) many shots the second half," Risner noted. "Allen East did a nice job defensively the second half. We did a terrible job defensively inside and on the boards. We didn't rebound and we didn't guard people inside."
"We're only playing about two quarters a night now," said Coach Moritz. "We don't come out strong...we come out in the second half and play pretty hard."
USV: Morgan Hunsicker 2, Whitney Carroll 9, Mikayla Coburn 8, Katie Hicks 23, Kayla Prater 1 and Ginnie Critten 4. Three-pointers: Carroll (1), and Hicks (3).
AE: Sabrina Crist 4, Mallie Kirkendall 5, Kayla Crow 20, Kayla Rowe 2, Hannah Winegardner 4, Haley Schafer 1 and Shelby Richardson 5. Three-pointers: Richardson (1).
1 2 3 4 F
USV 12 18 7 10 47
AE 9 11 9 12 41
The USV Ram reserves also defeated Allen East, 36-31, in overtime.
The Lady Rams will travel to Hardin Northern on Tuesday for a county matchup. Allen East hosts the Ada squad on Thursday for a league game.
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