By Rob Potter
ROSCOE — January 22, 2008 — For a good portion of Friday night’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI basketball game, the host Roscoe Lady Blue Devils found themselves trailing the Family School Lady Falcons.
But to the delight of Roscoe Coach Becky Ahart and her players, they were ahead when it mattered most.
Roscoe (7-6, 3-2 Division VI) rallied in the fourth quarter to record a 50-46 victory over the Lady Falcons. Down 38-36 at the end of the third period, the Lady Blue Devils outscored The Family School, 14-8, in the final eight minutes of play to register the four-point win.
With 1:38 left in the fourth period, Sky Dutcher drove down the lane and scored to put the Lady Blue Devils ahead 45-43. It was the team’s first lead since a 24-23 advantage during the first two minutes of the third quarter.
The lead was short-lived, however, as The Family School’s Mary Schmieder scored inside the lane 45 seconds later to knot the score at 45-45.
With 41.3 seconds remaining, Sheree Brutcher made a foul shot to bring the Lady Falcons to within a single point at 47-46.
But Dutcher pushed the Lady Blue Devils’ advantage to three points, 49-46, with a basket 14 seconds after Brutcher’s successful free throw.
In the final 10 seconds, The Family School (6-5, 2-3 Division VI) had a few chances to score. After an initial shot was missed, the Lady Falcons tried to put the ball back up and in a couple of times, but the ball did not fall through the net.
With 2.5 seconds on the clock, Roscoe’s Amanda Ladenhauf made the front end of a 1-and-1 foul shooting situation to give her team a four-point cushion.
Ladenhauf recorded a game-high 19 points to pace the Lady Blue Devils’ offense.
Taylor DeVantier and Amanda Huggins each scored 10 points for Roscoe. Huggins also grabbed eight rebounds.
Dutcher finished the evening with seven points and 13 rebounds.
Roscoe enjoyed slight advantage at the free-throw line. The Lady Blue Devils made 8-of-16 (50 percent) foul shots, while The Family School went 6-of-19 (32 percent) at the line.
“We really needed that one,” Roscoe Coach Becky Ahart said. “It was a big win for us.”
“Family School has a good ball club,” she added. “They played well tonight.”
Ahart noted that her team did a good job of rebounding and on defense, both of which helped the Lady Blue Devils make their comeback in the final quarter.
“My team continues to improve as the season goes along,” she said. “I’m very proud of them.”
Schmieder led the Lady Falcons with 18 points, while teammate Betty Weaver netted 11 points.
Claire Meehan and Brutcher added nine points and seven points, respectively, for The Family School.
“Our press didn’t work as well as it has in other games,” Family School Coach Carlton Williams said. “I think that rattled our players a little bit.
“Mary [Schmieder] got into foul trouble early on and that hurt us,” he added.
Williams lauded the efforts of both teams.
“It was a good game,” he said. “Both teams played hard. The Roscoe players were just able to get some baskets when they had to late in the fourth quarter.”