St. Gregory’s girls used a furious fourth quarter rally to beat Northeast Nodaway 28-26 Saturday to claim the Northeast Nodaway Tournament title. Northeast had their way with the Falcons in the first half, built on it in the third quarter, but then everything the Falcons threw up in the fourth quarter went in.
Kynder Florea hit Hayley Yost in the post to start the scoring and added a drive and a score off a Brianna Meyer steal to make it 6-0. Jade Price connected twice for the Falcons, but Northeast executed a perfect handoff play at the buzzer as Hayley Yost handed it off to Florea at the buzzer to make it 8-4.
Blair Nelson had the hot hand in the second quarter, converting a three point play and then hitting a pair of free throws to make it 13-6. Kynder Florea scored off a drive and Nelson connected again to make it 17-6 before Emily Yaple’s steal cut it to 17-8.
Kori Quinlin scored off a steal for the Falcons to break a long scoring drought to cut it to 17-10, but Blair Nelson scored from inside, Brianna Meyer got a steal and fed Florea, and then Yost fed Florea after a Meyer steal to make it 23-10.
But then it became obvious that a totally different Falcon team had taken the floor. As a team, they struggle when Jade Price has to do all the scoring, but thrive when everyone else chips in. The big difference in the second half was that Price had 6 of the Falcons’ 8 points, while in the second half, she had 6 of their 20 points. The play of Emily Yaple and Julia Branner was big as well; neither one played before Saturday’s game. Yaple was a solid post defender and rebounder, while Branner, left alone, provided some valuable scoring punch outside.
When Jade Price hit a guarded three at the third quarter buzzer to make it 23-14, it totally swung the momentum in the Falcons’ favor. Bristol Hicks hit a free throw to start the fourth, but then Yaple hit a free throw, Branner knocked down two shots from the left side, and Grace Stiens knocked down a shot from the wing to make it 24-21 at the 2:36 mark. Northeast kept missing free throws on the offensive end and couldn’t buy a board on the defensive end as the lead melted down to three.
Kynder Florea and Hayley Yost hit free throws to stop the bleeding and make it 26-21, but then a costly foul on Brianna Meyer, her fifth, set up Jade Price’s 3-pointer with 45 seconds left. Northeast missed a free throw with 40 seconds left and then Branner hit yet another shot and the Bluejay lead was gone as the score was tied at 26. Northeast’s inbounds against the Falcon press hit the back of the basket, but Price missed a 1-1 with 20 seconds left, giving Northeast a chance to win after Blair Nelson finally got a defensive board for them.
Kynder Florea tried a contested drive in the paint, but it missed, the ball bounced out to Kori Quinlin, and she had a wide open layup as time expired.
The Bluejays still had a successful season as they won all but three of their games. Kynder Florea had 13, Blair Nelson 9, Hayley Yost 3, and Bristol Hicks 1.
Brianna Meyer had 1 block.
Kynder Florea and Blair Nelson had 9 boards each. Bristol Hicks had 4, Brianna Meyer and Hayley Yost 3, and Rylee Scadden 1.
Brianna Meyer had 4 assists. Hayley Yost had 3, and Blair Nelson and Kynder Florea 1.
Brianna Meyer had 13 tips. Blair Nelson had 6, Hayley Yost 5, Kynder Florea and Rylee Scadden 3, and Bristol Hicks 1.
Brianna Meyer had 11 steals. Blair Nelson had 5, Kynder Florea 3, and Bristol Hicks and Hayley Yost 2.
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