MAGNET COVE -- C.J. Burks earned a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Cutter Morning Star, but it was not enough to lift the Lady Eagles over Magnet Cove Tuesday night as the Lady Panthers took a 50-41 win.
The Lady Eagles (3-8, 1-2 2A-5) struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 4 of 12. The Lady Panthers (6-5, 2-2) made 12 of 21 for 57 percent from the charity stripe.
"We missed way too many easy shots," said Lady Eagles head coach Brittany Senn. "We missed eight free throws and lost by nine. I feel we were in the game, had we made our shots."
"Both teams struggled at the line," Magnet Cove head coach Jeremy Hall agreed. "We definitely struggled from the field. We're young, and they were pressing out on us. My young girls really couldn't drive underneath that mid-range.
"That's what we kind of emphasize is either a three or a layup. We didn't emphasize that mid-range. Second half, we did a little bit better of looking at mid-range, making that extra pass to open shots, so we were able to put a few more points on the board."
The Lady Eagles held an 18-17 lead at the break, and Grace Slick followed Madison Bellomy's off-target 3-pointer with a putback to make it 20-17 just 12 seconds into the third quarter. The Lady Panthers took a 21-20 lead with 6:44 remaining in the quarter as Karsen Davis made a pair of free throws, taking a 24-20 lead a minute later as Kaitlyn Fletcher caught a pass from Davis outside the arc for three.
McKenna Knott-Debord put up two points 15 seconds later, but Emma Golden drained a deep shot to make the lead 27-22 with 5:19 remaining in the quarter. Burks had a pair of putbacks and was fouled going up for a bucket of her own, knotting the score at 29-all with the and-one.
The two teams traded shots before Brecken Knott-Debord put up a shot for two as time expired for a 33-31 lead going into the final period.
"I thought it was a pretty good game," Senn said. "Give credit to Magnet Cove for their effort. They never laid down; they never quit. They're well-coached."
Magnet Cove's Zoee Rednour drained a trey with 1:13 off the clock in the final eight minutes to kick off a 7-0 run for a 38-33 lead by the 4:37 mark. The Lady Eagles pulled within 43-36 with 1:15 remaining, but the Lady Panthers closed out the period on a 7-5 stretch to set the final.
"We started kind of losing our coverage and let them knock down a couple threes," Senn said. "We couldn't return it on the other end, so it was kind of hard to catch up after that. Then it got to where we were having to foul us and put them on the line, and that hurt us, too."
Magnet Cove hit just 2 of 11 from the field in the first quarter as Cutter Morning Star took an 8-6 lead on 33 percent shooting, but the Lady Panthers improved from distance, hitting 2 of 6 in the second period to pull within 18-17 at the break.
""I thought we kind of came out flat, so we picked it up a little bit in the second quarter," Hall said. "The first quarter, they were really kind of hands-off, so we didn't really pressure like we wanted to. They were able to get it down lower to their post, and their post is really, really good at finishing.
"We didn't really pressure the guards like we wanted to, so they were able to get the ball down low, and that really hurt us in the first half. The second half, we did a much better job pressing out, getting to their guards a little more where they couldn't establish that inside game quite as much.
Bellomy added nine points for the Lady Eagles with two rebounds, two assists and a block. Kara Kinkaid led the team in rebounds with six and steals with four with a block.
Golden led the Lady Panthers with 13 points while grabbing six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Kailyn Harville added eight points, and Davis had three steals, two assists and two rebounds.
The Lady Panthers will travel to Poyen (4-3, 2-1) Friday, and the Lady Eagles will travel to Carlisle (5-3, 1-2).
Sports on 12/13/2018