FOUNTAIN LAKE -- The Fountain Lake senior girls' basketball team led for the final three quarters Tuesday night at home, but pressure from Centerpoint kept the result in doubt until the final buzzer.
Sophomore Jill Norman drove to the basket to break a 7-7 tie at the buzzer in favor of the home team Tuesday at Irvin J. Bass Gymnasium-Sammy Lambert Court. The Lady Cobras (4-5) carried the advantage through the rest of the game.
"We moved the ball really well in the first half," said Fountain Lake head coach Chris Mungle. "We have really worked a lot on their man-to-man. They play a really good pack line man-to-man defense. We did a great job moving the basketball and got the shots we wanted."
Centerpoint (4-4) fell behind in the second quarter on a bad night shooting in what coach John Bright said has been an inconsistent season for the team.
"It has been that way," Bright said. "We have had some good nights and some bad nights."
The pace changed in the second half when Centerpoint opted to put more pressure on the ball.
"In the first half, we were just strictly man and we tried to jump a little it, but that was more of our zone half court trap," Bright said.
Centerpoint's pressure forced Fountain Lake into half a dozen turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half. Mungle called a timeout just two minutes into the third quarter with the lead down to 26-25.
"They came out and made it a little more helter-skelter," Mungle said. "It wasn't about executing our offense.
"With some of it, you just have to play when it is that helter-skelter. We turned the ball over some and let them back in it, but, in the end, we found a way to make enough plays, take care of the basketball, hit some free throws and it was a really good win for us."
A steal and a layup by Fountain Lake senior Molly Breshears gave the Lady Cobras some breathing room. Centerpoint continued to pressure the ball and force turnovers, but was unable to turn them into points.
The Lady Knights only converted on 2 of 6 free throws in the third quarter and shot 0-for-2 in the final frame. They finished the game 4-for-11 on free throws.
"We have been effective with our half court trap, but we get some steals and usually people catch up," Bright said. "We don't get the easy layups. That has an effect."
The margin was down to two points again at 31-29 after three quarters, but a successful drive and shot by Breshears again gave Fountain Lake some breathing room.
Centerpoint never trailed by more than four points in the fourth quarter. Junior Jaide Vavra led all scorers with 18 points in the game. She had at least four points in every quarter.
Senior Lyndsey Blees made two free throws with 1:15 left to play to put Fountain Lake ahead 41-37. Vavra answered on the other end with a jump shot to make the score 41-39.
Fountain Lake was called for traveling with 21 seconds left on the clock. Vavra put up a 3-pointer on the following possession, but the shot bounced off of the inside of the rim.
Blees took the rebound and dribbled almost the length of the sideline on the home side until she was would with two seconds on the clock. She missed both free throws, but Centerpoint was unable to get off a final shot.
"These girls have been there, done that," Mungle said. "They really work together. We all made some mistakes, but they really worked together, made some plays down at the end and hit a few big free throws. It was just a great team effort."
Breshears led Fountain Lake in scoring with 15 points. Blees and Norman added nine and seven, respectively. Mungle stressed the importance of free throws and rebounding to his team's success.
"When we do that, in our conference this year, we are going to have a chance every night," Mungle said. "Those are the things we are talking about."
Fountain Lake is scheduled to play again Friday on the road at Gurdon (1-8).
Senior Taylor Bowen added 10 points off the bench for Centerpoint. Senior Cortney Samuel scored nine.
Centerpoint will be at home on Friday against Arkadelphia (4-6).
Sports on 12/14/2017