By: Nick Hall
The Plainview Lady Bears ended a four-game losing streak last week, finishing out their regular season area schedule with wins over Sylvania and Geraldine, before falling at the hands of the Lady Panthers from Spring Garden. Below are details of all three games.
Plainview 55 – Sylvania 53
The Lady Bears struggled early, giving up a 16-7 lead to the Lady Rams of Sylvania at the end of the first period. For the next two periods the two teams battled neck and neck. The Lady Bears won the second period 16-14, but went into halftime still down 30-23.
The third period saw Sylvania outscore Plainview 10-9 to extend the Lady Rams lead back to eight points going into the final period. The final eight minutes belonged to the Lady Bears as Plainview outscored Sylvania 23-13 and provided a dramatic finish. With just a few seconds left on the clock, Tobi Trotter drained her only trey of the night to tie the game at 53 all. The Lady Rams in bounded the ball with 7.9 seconds to play and a chance to score and prevent the all-but-certain overtime. Plainview’s Ava Smith had other plans. Smith stole the ball at mid-court and drove into the paint for the game winning layup at the buzzer.
Trotter led the Lady Bears with 22 points on the night and nine rebounds. Smith followed with 11 points and five rebounds. Payton Blevins and Elaine Puckett netted eight points each with Puckett grabbing six rebounds while Jesi Farris and Avery Price each finished with three points.
“Even though we got off to a slow start, our girls continued to battle and never gave up,” said coach Luke Griggs. “It was a great team win for us. I was especially proud of Ava Smith for her last possession steal and game winning field goal. She has worked hard all fall on her left hand and it payed off in a big way.”
Plainview 78 – Geraldine 49
Plainview dominated the Lady Bulldogs early jumping out to a 23-9 lead at the end of the first period. Geraldine played it closer in the second, only getting outscored by three to go into the half down 38-21. The third period saw the Lady Bears outscore the Lady Bulldogs 23-19. Despite having its best offensive period, Geraldine entered the fourth down 61-40. The final period was all Plainview. The Lady Bears outscored Geraldine 17-9 to seal the win.
Trotter netted 22 points to lead the Lady Bears. Blevins followed with 15. Puckett scored eight and grabbed six rebounds. Harley Wilkins also finished with eight.
“The girls came out with great intensity on defense,” said Griggs. “Our ball pressure led to some good looks on offense and we shot the ball very well as a team.”
Plainview 36 – Spring Garden 49
The Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Bears in a close first period 13-10, but the bears seized control in the second to take a 22-16 lead into the half. That lead wouldn’t last long. In the third period the Lady Panthers dominated, outscoring Plainview 19-16 to take a 35-28 lead heading into the final period. The fourth period was more of the same as Spring Garden outscored Plainview 14-8 to seal the win.
Smith was the only Lady Bear in double digits with 13. Jenna Mayes followed with nine while Trotter netted eight, Farris scored four and Puckett finished with two.
“I have great respect for Coach Ricky Austin and the Spring Garden basketball program,” said Griggs. “I was very pleased with our girls at halftime with the 22-16 lead. We played with great discipline on defense in the first half, but allowed them to go on a run in the third period and we couldn’t get the momentum back. I’ve got to do a better job adjusting in the second half, especially against hall of fame coaches like Ricky Austin. This loss is on me.”