If football can be a game of inches, basketball can be a game of seconds.
It was one of those seconds that cost the McDonald County Lady Mustangs a win instead of a 56-52 loss to Providence Academy of Rogers, Ark., on Feb. 9 at MCHS.
Trailing 48-40 with less than a minute to go, the Lady Mustangs scored eight straight points in the span of less than 30 seconds to tie the game at 48-48 with 13.4 seconds left.
McDonald County then had a shot to win the game in regulation when the Lady Mustangs forced a turnover on the Lady Patriots ensuing possession, but Caitlyn Barton's basket from the block came just after the buzzer sounded.
"We started out the game really well," said coach Blake Short. "Our game plan was working and then at the end of the first half, we had one minute of just not great basketball. The third quarter we got back to playing well and in the fourth quarter, we attacked. We started rebounding better and really played well. In overtime, they hit their free throws and we got to a point we had to foul. They are really good. I was proud of the girls and how they battled back."
McDonald County led 11-9 at the end of the first quarter and 14-11 early in the second period before Providence finished the half with a 13-0 run to take a 24-14 lead at intermission. McDonald County cut the margin to 34-26 entering the fourth period.
Providence scored all eight of its points in overtime from the free-throw line, while the Lady Mustangs were held to baskets by Meagan Mills and Kristin Penn.
Rita Santillan scored 16 points, including two three-pointers in the fourth quarter to spark the Lady Mustangs' rally, and Sam Frazier had 14 to lead McDonald County. Rounding out the scoring for McDonald County were Mills, also with two three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and Penn with eight each and Ragan Wilson six.
Hayley Kale Webb led Providence with 23 points.
East Newton
The McDonald County Lady Mustangs picked up their third win of the season on Monday night with a 39-25 win over East Newton at East Newton High School.
Meagan Mills scored nine points in the first quarter to stake the Lady Mustangs to a 16-13 lead. McDonald County stretched the margin to 24-18 at halftime and to 35-23 entering the fourth period.
Mills finished with 11 points to lead McDonald County, followed by Ragan Wilson with seven points, Kristin Penn with six, Rita Santillan five, Sam Frazier and Caitlyn Barton four each and Aspen Bowman two.
McDonald County added a 30-24 win in the junior varsity game. The Lady Mustangs led just 12-10 at halftime before outscoring East Newton 11-8 in the third period to take a 23-18 lead.
Sydney Killion and Katie Kester led a balanced scoring attack with seven points each, followed by Addy Mick with six, Caitlyn Barton and Laney Wilson four each and Lily Allman and Alexia Estrada one each.
The Lady Mustangs hosted St. Mary's Colgan on Feb. 13 before traveling to Mount Vernon on Feb. 15.
Seneca
The Seneca Lady Indians avenged a loss from a week earlier with a 56-49 win on Feb. 6 at MCHS.
Seneca hit four treys in the first quarter to jump out to a 14-7 lead. The Lady Indians added two more in the second period on the way to a 26-18 halftime lead. Seneca built a 40-26 lead late in the third quarter before McDonald County scored eight straight points, including two three-pointers by Santillan, to close out the period.
McDonald County, trailing 48-39, with 5:30 left, scored nine straight points, including a three-pointer and two free throws by Frazier, to tie the game at 48-48 with 2:28 left in the game.
But Seneca responded with an 8-1 run down the stretch for the win.
Santillan scored 15 points and Frazier had 11 to lead McDonald County, while Mills had 10, followed by Wilson with nine and Penn with four.
McDonald County claimed a 39-6 win in the junior varsity game. Katie Kester scored 11 points and Laney Wilson had 10 to lead McDonald County. Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Mustangs were Lily Allman with eight points, Barton with six and Addy Mick and Sydney Killion two each.
Sports on 02/15/2018