×

Narrow defeat

Lady T’birds can’t complete big comeback

Photo by Valory Isaacson Southwestern’s Carissa Minarovich (21) puts up a shot while defended by Chautauqua Lake’s Alexis Jacobson Tuesday night.

Chautauqua Lake clawed its way back from a 17-point second-half deficit to tie Southwestern with 32 seconds to play in their Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West girls basketball matchup Tuesday.

It took the undefeated Trojans just nine seconds to make things right again.

Southwestern senior Alanna Dibble answered Jesse Zenns’ tying basket with a bucket of her own with 23 seconds remaining before the Trojans prevented the Thunderbirds from even attempting a last-second shot in a 55-53 victory.

The win keeps Southwestern’s dream of an undefeated season alive as the Trojans improved to 11-0 overall and took over sole possession of first place in the league with an unblemished 5-0 mark.

“This is probably the most special group of kids I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching,” Southwestern coach David Turnbull said. ” … They work so, so hard and everything we ask of them, they come through.”

That seemed like a certainty early on as the hosts led by 10 after the first quarter and by 12 at halftime before Chautauqua Lake (8-5, 4-1) made a game of it.

Junior Erin Radack hit a 3-pointer early in the third quarter that pushed the Trojans’ lead to 17 before the Thunderbirds came alive. With under three minutes remaining, Zenns made a basket that started a 13-0 run to close out the quarter.

“Even at halftime, we really never looked down or out. My kids have a sense of grittiness,” Chautauqua Lake coach Bill Persons said. ” … I really thought we showed a lot of effort in the second half as a group. They just really played well.”

Katelyn Fardink hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run before Lily Woodis hit a pair of free throws. Another basket from Fardink made it 48-43 with 50 seconds left in the quarter before Woodis hit a free throw on Chautauqua Lake’s final possession of the quarter.

“We switched our defense up a little bit and we were able to get some rebounds on the defensive end. That led into our transition game and that really freed Katelyn up,” Persons said. “When she can get away from her defender, she’s got a quick shot. She’s not afraid to take it. She’s been lights-out from beyond the arc.”

The Thunderbirds’ Lexi Jacobson hit a free throw midway through the fourth quarter to pull her team within two at 53-51, but Chautauqua Lake was unable to tie the game on its following four possessions, going 0 for 5 with a turnover.

Zenns finally tied the game, but the Trojans pushed the ball back up the floor and Dibble made the eventual winning bucket.

“We want to try and run it up the floor,” Turnbull said. ” … I trusted Alanna to sprint the floor, which she does consistently. She got open for the easy layup, so that was a good thing.”

After a timeout to advance the ball, Chautauqua Lake was unable to get the ball into Zenns, and eventually a held ball gave the ball back to Southwestern with just two seconds remaining.

“With eight girls, we can’t get tired. … We want to run and wear teams out in the fourth quarter,” Turnbull said. “The conditioning apsect is one of the things we can control. We can’t control outcomes and how teams are going to shoot, but we can control effort and conditioning.”

The Trojans were able to build their first-half lead thanks to a 24-14 rebounding edge and the play of Izzy Bursch.

The senior scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the first quarter and added 5 points, including another 3-pointer, in the second quarter to go into halftime with 15 of her team’s 39 points.

“She really did a nice job,” Persons said. “We were not ready for that. We made a change and had to switch out of our initial defense to try to shut that down.”

Bursch finished with 17 points to lead the Trojans while Dibble and junior Erin Radack each had 12.

“Izzy probably is the best pure catch-and-shoot shooter that we have. She is such an unselfish player, but we talked at practice that this might be a time to be selfish,” Turnbull said. “She was willing to take the big shots and she made a lot of them for us. Even in the second half … her threat of scoring helped up immensely.”

Zenns led the Thunderbirds with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Fardink added 15 points.

“She’s been putting in a couple of games here … she’s really coming on in the later part of the season,” Persons said of Zenns. “We’re going to need her going into the playoffs for sure.”

The teams will renew acquaintances in their final league game of the season, Feb. 12 in Mayville.

“I’m just proud of our girls. Everytime we play Chautauqua Lake the past two seasons they have been great battles,” Turnbull said. ” … These are the kinds of games you enjoy coaching. Kids battle hard and it’s sad to see somebody have to lose the game.”

NOTES: Dibble led Southwestern with 10 rebounds while Radack had nine. … Abbie Henry grabbed 10 rebounds; Lily Woodis had five assists and Jacobson had four; and Zenns blocked five shots while Fardink blocked four. … Chautauqua Lake won the jayvee game, 46-29, behind 16 points from Lauren Alfa and 10 apiece from Hailey Roush and Hannah Weise. Lotte Kranzo and Meghan Swauger each had 10 for Southwestern.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today