|
|
Ecko
Brown came up with 10 big points... none bigger than
two free throws to give the Pats
their only lead with 11 seconds and
the win. Photo by Dale Barger, tvpatriots.com
|
|
Lady
Patriots stave off big scare
T-V remains undefeated
By Dale Barger
tvpatriots.com
NEW MADISON- The Lady Patriots had yet to be tested this season coming
in with a 3-0 record.
National Trail was ready to give them that test and the Patriots needed
the entire 32 minutes to complete it. In the end the Patriots passed on
the scoreboard… but further evaluations showed there is plenty of room
for improvement.
The Trailblazers grabbed the lead to start the game and held it
throughout the contest. They jumped on Tri-Village with good perimeter
shooting on four treys to claim a 20-14 first quarter lead.
Meanwhile the Patriots were struggling to put the ball in the basket
with Ecko Brown and Raya Mikesell both scoring 4 points each in the
quarter.
The Patriots were able to slow down the outside shooting of Trail in
the 2nd frame chipping away to trail 28-26 at the half.
Krystal Falknor put in half of the Patriots points in the frame with
six.
“They (National Trail) came out and shot the ball really well to start
the game, said coach Brad Gray. Defensively we just didn’t move very
good and to their credit they handled our pressure fairly well.”
National Trail senior point guard Paige Thompson a 4 year player had a
lot to do with that as she handled the pressure and got them into their
half court offense.
She also helped spark the Blazers defense and was able to turn the
tables on the Patriots with their own pressure forcing Tri-Village into
uncharacteristic mistakes.
Brad Gray imparted some advice to the girls before the game, “if you
don’t jump on them early and they keep it close in the first quarter,
we are going to be in a dogfight the entire game.”
That dogfight continued as Trail edged TV 8-7 in the 3rd quarter to
maintain a 36-33 lead.
In the final stanza, behind the leadership of Thompson, NT controlled
the tempo and expanded their lead to 44-35.
To make matters worse, senior Teha Richards picked up her 5th foul on a
driving layup and the silent crowd of Tri-Village was stunned.
But another senior point guard by the name of Shaye Thomas stepped
forward for TV by attacking the lane and forcing NT to foul her. In the
final minutes Shaye scored 6 points.
Add in a baseline runner by Ecko Brown and the Patriots had cut the
lead down to 43-46 at the 1:09 mark.
Now the once quiet crowd of Tri-Village was actively engaged, loud and
raucous.
To make matters worse for Trail, their floor general Thompson fouled
out and the Patriots were able to force Trail into some turnovers
leaving the door open for Tri-Village.
Krystal Falknor stepped up by connecting on two free throws to make it
45-46 with 40 seconds to play.
The Blazers had one more opportunity to expand the lead… but again came
up short at the free throw line. They would compound the situation with
a frustration over the back foul.
That put sophomore Ecko Brown in the spotlight with 11 seconds to play
in a double bonus free throw situation.
Ecko got a friendly bounce on the first toss to knot the score and a
friendly roll on the second toss to give the PATS their first and only
lead of the game 47-46.
The Patriots forced one more turnover and the home crowd went into a
frenzy… while the Blazer faithful sat in disbelief as to what just
unfolded and an improbable come from behind victory by Tri-Village.
“I’m really proud of our kids tonight for persevering and finding a way
to win a game that quite frankly we probably didn’t deserve to win,
said Brad Gray. Trail really wanted this game, they played physical,
quick and aggressive and shot the ball real well early on. “Troy
Ferguson (Trail head coach) does a great job of preparing his kids and
we know they are going to give us a good game.”
Gray continued, “I think what you saw tonight was our big game
experience paying dividends. When it got tight our girls fed off that,
Trail made mistakes and we capitalized on them.”
“Shaye Thomas stepped forward when Teha fouled out to lead us, and then
we got big free throws from Krystal Falknor and Ecko Brown when it
mattered the most,” concluded Gray.
On this night the Lady Patriots get an “A” for the win…but the lesson
learned is to never take an opponent lightly and follow the
instructions of your teacher for better results.
Krystal Falknor led T-V with 15 points, Ecko Brown added 10 points and
Shaye Thomas nine in the win.
|
|
|
|
