Trailing by 13 entering the fourth quarter, Quitman’s Tori Ivy scored 11 of her game-high 26 points in the final eight minutes of regulation, leading the Lady Bulldogs to a 75-72 overtime victory over Nemo Vista’s Lady Red Hawks on Thursday night in Quitman.
With the Lady Bulldogs seemingly running out of gas midway through the third quarter, Quitman Coach Louanne Sanders called a timeout to light a fire under her bunch. “After the timeout, I think they came out fired up. I think they were looking forward to homecoming Friday night a little bit but I was very, very happy how we came back and finished the game. That is the first overtime game we have won this year and I’m very proud of my girls. They played hard, never gave up and were rewarded with a win.”
Considering Nemo Vista nearly won the Greers Ferry Lake Classic before falling to Rose Bud by two in the finals, Sanders and her troops feel like they can play with anybody in the area. “I think we can play with anybody and they are starting to believe that,” said Sanders. “We expect to win when we go out on the court and we are really competing in all of our games right now. I think we are starting to peak at the right time.”
Although Sanders usually uses a 10-player rotation of five for five, she mixed it up some on Thursday. “I usually rotate five for five but tonight we had some players playing better than others so we changed up the rotation a bit and I thought the players responded and played their roles. We are all one team and I am very excited about the rest of the season and postseason play,” Sanders said.
Quitman got off to a fast start as Ivy nailed a 3-pointer up top off an inbounds play and she added two free throws before Megan Murray buried a trey from left elbow as Nemo Vista broke its offensive drought midway through the first quarter.
Megan Murray added a driving layup in transition and Megan Strickland notched a stick back as the Lady Hawks took the lead before Lizzie Bowen answered with a putback. After Megan Murray made a free throw and 3-pointer from right elbow, Krystal Lewis used a ball fake to get free for a jumper in the lane but Monica Murray fired back with a 3-pointer from right corner, giving Nemo Vista a 14-9 lead.
Rachel Lewis countered with a 3-pointer from right wing, pulling Quitman within two going into the second quarter.
Ivy gave Quitman a brief lead early in the second quarter by popping a trey up top but Megan Murray drove the length of the floor for a layup and Jordana Andrews sliced through the right side of lane for two more, giving the Lady Hawks an 18-15 advantage.
Samantha Burklow followed her own miss for a bucket, plus contact and she completed the 3-point play but Andrews got a putback and then she added a 3-pointer in transition before Krystal Lewis retaliated with a 3-pointer from top of the key.
After Megan Murray hit Jade Mallett on a fast break for a layup, Ivy bombed a deep 3-pointer from right wing then she swiped a steal and scored, pushing Quitman in front, 26-25.
Megan Murray responded with a pair of free throws but Krystal Lewis drained a 3-pointer from right corner off an assist from Bowen before Nemo Vista closed the first half with five straight as Lauren Baugh turned an offensive rebound into two free throws and Andrews drilled a 3-pointer from left wing, leaving the Lady Bulldogs with a 32-29 deficit at halftime.
Megan Murray and Cailtin Haley traded buckets to begin the third quarter but Nemo Vista used an 11-2 run to temporarily take control of the game. Monica Murray drove the left side for a layup to get the Lady Hawks started then Andrews canned a 3-pointer from left corner and Megan Murray hit a pull up jumper from charity stripe.
After Quitman’s Britney Gifford fired back with a driving layup, Andrews hit a runner in the lane then she turned a steal by Monica Murray into an old-fashioned 3-point play, boosting the Lady Hawks’ lead to 12 at 45-33.
Gifford ended Nemo Vista’s hot streak by banking home a 3-pointer up top and Bowen added a pair of free throws but Tiffany McCoy nailed a 3-pointer from left wing, giving the Lady Hawks a 48-38 advantage.
Haley responded with two free throws for Quitman but Nemo Vista closed the third quarter with five straight as Andrews got a stick back and Baugh drained a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer, leaving the Lady Bulldogs with a 53-40 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
Quitman outscored the Lady Hawks 26-13 in the fourth quarter, including a 12-0 run to begin the period. Ivy got the Lady Bulldogs started with two free throws then Taylor Bennett drove the right side and finished over two defenders before Haley sank a short jumper in the paint.
Jenny Peterson added a pull up jumper in transition as the Lady Hawks took a timeout just over a minute into the fourth quarter but Quitman’s run continued as Haley and Gifford each made a pair of free throws, leaving Nemo Vista with a 53-52 lead.
The Lady Hawks broke their drought when McCoy hit a 3-pointer from left corner off an assist from Megan Murray but Ivy fired back with a trey from right wing before Megan Murray hit a tough driving shot in traffic.
Nemo Vista extended its lead to five on a follow shot from Megan Murray but Haley answered with a short turnaround jumper before Megan Murray and Krystal Lewis traded free throws, leaving the Lady Bulldogs with a 61-58 deficit.
McCoy added a breakaway layup but Quitman refused to give in as Ivy made a tough leaner over three defenders then she drilled a 3-pointer from right elbow, tying the contest at 63-all.
After Andrews made one from the line, Krystal Lewis hit two free throws and Ivy added another after Peterson secured a critical defensive rebound. With Quitman leading 66-64, McCoy sliced down the right side of the lane and finished with a finger roll, sending the game into a four-minute overtime period.
Rachel Lewis and McCoy swapped free throws for the only points in the first two minutes of overtime then Krystal Lewis made a sweeping hook shot before Ivy swiped a steal and scored, giving Quitman a 71-67 lead with 1:39 remaining.
The Lady Bulldogs came up with another defensive stop and Krystal Lewis made two from the stripe but Nemo Vista hung tough as Strickland hit a short jumper in the lane. After Rachel Lewis turned an offensive rebound into a free throw, Andrews drove the lane and scored, plus contact. Andrews completed the 3-point play as the Lady Red Hawks pulled within a bucket before Krystal Lewis made one from the stripe.
With Quitman leading by three, Nemo Vista missed three trey attempts before Ivy came away with a steal and ran out the clock as the Lady Bulldogs celebrated a 75-72 victory.
Andrews paced Nemo Vista with 23 points and Megan Murray added 22. Following Ivy’s game-high 26 points, Krystal Lewis added 16 for Quitman, Haley had 10 and Gifford followed with seven.
