Saturday, October 31, 2015

Anna Gladstone had 12, Regan Allee 11 as JH Tigers Avenge Stanberry

Anna Gladstone broke double figures again with 12, Regan Allee overcame early foul trouble and scored 11 points as the Worth County Junior High Tigers won on the road, avenging a running clock loss to Stanberry from last year. That was one of only two losses for the Tigers last year; getting the 31-26 win removed one obstacle to an undefeated season.

The game started off as a battle of wills as neither team could score on the other's defense for the first three minutes. Finally, Sydney Mattson hit from the right baseline for Stanberry and Elle Ellis added a free throw. Regan Allee went to the bench with three fouls for the Tigers. But then Anna Gladstone got a steal, fed it to Kaylee McElvain, who threw it back to her from downtown to tie it up at 3. Andaya Brown hit a free throw for Stanberry, but Jill Hardy went up strong in transition and drew contact to tie it back up at 4 after one quarter.

Worth County looked like it might pull away in the second as Anna Gladstone drove down the right side, drew contact, and got sprawled on the floor and converted a 3-point play. Regan Allee grabbed a defensive board and went coast to coast to make it 9-4, but then Stanberry came right back, chipping away and tying it at 9 and then 11 at the break. Stanberry was slashing and driving to the basket at will, and Worth County was hacking and fouling too much; the foul differential was 5-0 in Stanberry's favor at one point.

The hacking and fouling continued in the second half, but Worth County was able to build up a 19-14 lead as Regan Allee hit a shot from the right side off a pass from Kristin New and added a steal. Jill Hardy scored after posting up inside, using her newfound size and Anna Gladstone added a driving layup. But then Stanberry got into the bonus and Anna Gladstone went to the bench with four fouls at the 1:07 mark of the third.

Stanberry continued to drive and slash to the rim, but Merrideth Spiers chose that time to get going inside as she scored three points in the last minute to keep the Tigers ahead 22-18 after three. Regan Allee hit two free throws to start the fourth and Worth County maintained a 4-6 point lead through most of the fourth before Anna Gladstone fouled out at the 2:14 mark of the fourth. But Worth County had her back as Regan Allee drove in for a layup and 3-point play with 1:46 left to give the Tigers their largest lead at 31-23 with 1:46 left.

Stanberry chipped away, getting to within 31-26 at one point, and got the ball back after the Tigers had missed a 1 and 1. But they could not get any closer as Regan Allee knocked the ball loose twice and Kaylee McElvain blocked two shots in the closing seconds as Stanberry could not make it a one possession game.

Anna Gladstone led the scoring again with 12 points, followed by Regan Allee with 11. Merrideth Spiers had 3 along with Jill Hardy. Kaylee McElvain had 2.

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