By Ted Waddell
GRAHAMSVILLE — January 4, 2005 – The Tri-Valley Lady Bears clipped the wings of the Lady Eagles of Downsville, 63-52, in last Thursday’s non-league basketball game.
In handing a loss to a previously undefeated team, the host Lady Bears were up 41-32 in the closing seconds of the third period, only to see the Lady Eagles surge back to within a single point early in the fourth quarter.
Then it was back on track for T-V (4-4). The Lady Bears went up by eight points with 3:41 remaining in the contest.
Less than a minute later, Downsville (11-1) roared back to narrow the home team’s advantage to 54-50.
At the final buzzer, T-V’s Melissa Bachmann electrified the fans with a leaping 3-point shot to end the game with a shock.
Lacey Moore posted some outstanding numbers during T-V’s win over the previously unbeaten Lady Eagles. Moore scored a game-high 24 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, dished out five assists and recorded three steals.
“I was a little nervous coming into the game because they were undefeated,” said Moore, a 17-year-old senior center. “But when we started, our whole team pulled together and we broke their press.”
At the half, Downsville, a Section IV Class D team, was up 25-24. But the Lady Bears staged a rally in the third period, outscoring the Lady Eagles by a 17-7 margin in those eight minutes of play.
In the final frame, T-V outscored the Lady Eagles 22-20 on the way to recording an 11-point victory.
Downsville enjoyed a slight advantage at the free-throw line, however. The Lady Eagles made 5-of-6 foul shots – an outstanding 83 percent – in the game. The Lady Bears were 0-for-3 at the free-throw line.
In addition to Moore, Bachmann also scored in double figures for the Lady Bears. Bachmann netted 14 points on the afternoon.
Three Lady Eagles – Courtney Hoyt, Linnea Mattson and Mary Wall – finished the game in double figures. Hoyt paced the Downsville offensive attack with 18 points, while Mattson and Wall netted 14 and 12 points, respectively.
“I think they did a good job of passing, and that’s what beat us,” Downsville Coach Christine Paopaus said. “They passed around us, and we were just flat-footed on defense.”
On a positive note, Paopaus said her team “did a decent job” of running their offensive plays and got off some good shots.
T-V Coach Karen Furman was all smiles with the win and Bachmann’s game-ending basket.
“That was a first for me,” Furman said of the 3-pointer that closed out the Lady Bears’ highest scoring game so far this season.
“I thought we played well together and on the press, we had a lot of steals,” Furman said.
She praised the performance of four Lady Bears in particular. Furman noted that Lacey Moore had “a good all-around game”; Nikki Dean and Bachmann were “good on the press” and Shauna Murry “really helped us out in the fourth period by driving to the basket and passing off when she didn’t have the outside shot.”
Furman’s take on the 2004-2005 season of hoops?
“I have a strong group of seniors this year, and we’re learning to work together,” she said. “It’s progressing as the season goes along, and we’ve been in every game.”