Lady Bears beat Graham

By JERRY SCOTT/Correspondent

Sophomore Amber Eaton hit for eight points, including the game winner with 36 seconds to play, and Bland County held on to score a 34-31 win over Graham’s G-Girls in an MED hardwood war played in Bluefield on Jan. 14.

In a game that featured no double figure scorers, Eaton’s effort led both teams. Bears’ teammate Alyssa Harris added seven points and six rebounds. Liz Workman paced Graham (1-2, 6-7) with seven markers and Candice Lewis tallied six.

Bland County’s (2-1, 8-5) first lead came on an Eaton three with 1:43 remaining in the opening frame as the Bears led 5-4. But Graham bounced back and used a Tori Repass trey with 40 seconds to go to hold an 8-6 advantage to begin the second stanza.

Alison Morgan’s two free throws knotted the game 8-8 at the 6:59 mark of the first half before the Bears held their second lead 10-8 at the 4:28 mark on a hoop from Harris. Graham’s Workman scored on a runner in the paint at 3:20 as the G-Girls tied the game 10-10 and would go on to add a baseline drive with seven seconds left as Graham held a 13-12 halftime edge.

The game was tight throughout as neither team could mount any offensive consistency. A brief spurt beginning the second half was some of the best action of the night. Workman’s floater 20 seconds into the third stanza had Graham up 15-12 as the teams traded hoops.

The Bears’ Kelsey Dinger closed the gap to 15-14 before Graham’s Lewis nailed a runner at 7:05 to make it 17-14. The Bears then answered when Jessie Blessing fed Harris inside, that basket followed by another bucket from Graham’s Lewis as the score reached 19-16 at the 6:30 mark.

Two Dinger free shots and a Julia Davis shot just inside the arc had the Bears in front 20-19 at 5:33 but Graham’s Leah Gillespie erased the advantage by drilling a trey 11 seconds later as the G-Girls retook the lead. A minute later, the Bears deadlocked it again 22-22 in a deuce from Eaton.

The offenses then began to sputter again and Graham used two Ashley Moretto free throws as well as a stickback by Karly Morgan of a Moretto miss, all in the final 35 seconds, to cap its 13-11 scoring edge for the stanza to hold a 26-23 lead after three.

Lewis made it 28-23 early in the fourth frame before the Bears fought back. Holly Williams launched a three out of the corner that brought the deficit to 28-26 and when Davis again deuced just inside the circle with 3:56 left, the game drew its fifth tie at 28-28. Graham’s final lead came 19 seconds later when Workman hit the first of two free tosses to make it 29-28.

The Bears’ Blessing dropped in a huge three-point bucket with 58 seconds left as Bland County got in front 31-29 but 11 seconds later, Graham’s Repass knotted it again at 31-31. That was before another 11 seconds passed and Eaton blew down a jumper to give the Bears the lead 33-31. Graham’s Workman miss the front end of a bonus free throw with 27 seconds left before Blessing hit a free shot to seal the deal with 11 seconds to go.

The Bears’ junior varsity didn’t fare near as well as the varsity as David Andrews’ cagers sank to 8-5, losing to Graham 32-24. The G-Girls gouged the Bears 13-4 in the second quarter to take an 18-9 halftime lead that was never in doubt in the second half.

Bailee Poe’s seven points led the victors with Ashley Rasnake adding six points. Savannah Slaughter and Kristen Dillow had seven each for the Bears, committers of 23 turnovers in defeat.