By Rob Potter
HANCOCK — November 30, 2001 – Like any early season contest, Wednesday evening’s girls’ basketball game between visiting Downsville and the Family School featured a few mistakes.
In the first quarter, both teams committed several traveling violations and turned the ball over with errant passes.
But over the next three quarters, the teams found more of a rhythm.
The Lady Eagles from Downsville proved to be a little more in sync, posting a 38-33 win over the Lady Falcons in the non-league game.
Neither team, however, could establish more than a six-point lead in the contest and the outcome was not decided until the final seconds.
With 38 ticks showing on the scoreboard, Family School guard Dee Gill swished a three-point shot from the top of the key to bring the Lady Falcons to within two points, 35-33. The shot also brought dozens of Family School students and faculty members to their feet, making the “Falcons’ Nest” a raucous environment.
Following a Downsville (1-2) timeout, the Lady Eagles turned the ball over on its next possession. But as the Lady Falcons tried to advance the ball upcourt for a potentially game-tying basket, Downsville guard Ashlie Keesler stole the ball and drove to the hoop for a layup. She converted the layup to give the Lady Eagles a 37-33 lead with 12 seconds left in the game.
After the Family School (0-1) failed to score at its end of the floor, Downsville’s Chelsea Dunphy gained possession of the ball. With two seconds on the clock, she was fouled and made one of the two free throws to complete the scoring.
“Ashlie is a team captain and she really stepped up,” Downsville coach Kyle Emerich said. “That steal she made at the end was big.”
Emerich said that a defensive switch his squad made in the second half was also a factor in the win.
“They were able to go inside and beat us in the first half against the man-to-man defense,” he said. “We went to the 2-3 [zone] to keep them shooting from the outside. And their outside shot wasn’t on today.”
Family School coach Carlton Williams concurred with Emerich. Aside from Gill’s clutch long-distance shot, the Lady Falcons missed many shots from the perimeter.
“Our outside shot was not falling,” Williams said. “And they got a lot of key rebounds.”
Among those hitting the boards for Downsville was Dunphy. She grabbed several rebounds in the second half, when she also scored 11 of her game-high 15 points.
Keesler added eight points for the Lady Eagles.
For the Family School, Gill and forward Lori McLeod each netted a team-high eight points.
“We’ll go back to the drawing board,” Williams said. “We’ll play better as the season moves along.”
One aspect of the game both Williams and Emerich are sure to address with their teams in upcoming practices is foul shooting. The Lady Falcons converted only two of 10 free throws in the contest, while the Lady Eagles made just five of 15 shots from the charity stripe.
When asked about the rest of the season, Williams noted that he had a “young team.”
“We have four returning players,” he said. “It will be a rebuilding year.”
The Lady Falcons finished the 2000-2001 season with a 6-14 record, 3-7 in OCIAA Division V.