By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Visiting LCC outscored Ada 21-11 in the fourth quarter to down the Lady Bulldogs 51-39 in a hard-fought non-conference girls basketball contest Thursday evening.
The purple and gold drop to 2-8 with the defeat, while the Thunderbirds improved to 1-12 after their first win.
LCC finished the game on an 18-6 run after breaking the final tie of 33-33 on a Rosie Williams three-point play with just under five minutes remaining.
"They beat us to loose ball and rebounds," said fourth-year Bulldog head coach Bill Taflinger. "It was a physical game and they pushed us around inside. We just gave up too many second and third chance shots.
"We weren't physical enough, but we were competitive. For three games in a row now we have been in it in the fourth quarter, so we are improving," he added.
LCC canned 11 of 17 free throws in the decisive fourth period.
Despite missing several close-in shots, the T-Birds led 9-8 after a cold-shooting first period by both clubs. Ada junior Rilan Conley scored six of the Bulldog points in the period but then got in foul trouble.
Bulldog senior Maddie Gossard tied it 11-11 by sinking a left wing trifecta with 7:22 to go in the half. Two Erin Mulcahy free throws put LCC back in the lead briefly, but Gossard drained a long triple from the right wing to give Ada its first lead at the 5:48 mark, 14-13.
Mulcahy splashed a field goal yet junior guard Raina England popped in a triple to give the Bulldogs a 17-15 edge. Jocelyn Morrisey tied it for LCC on a 17-foot shot, and Mary Kay Mulcahy canned a right wing trifecta to provide a 20-17 T-Bird advantage.
Williams split a pair of foul shots to end the half on a momentum-changing, 6-0 T-Bird run.
Yet Ada senior Anney Archer tied it 21-21 early in half two by hitting a right wing trey and a foul shot with 1:03 into the third period.
Williams converted two charity stripers, but senior guard Teara Coulson nailed a left wing trey to give the Bulldogs a 24-23 lead at the 4:55 juncture.
A lane bank shot by England put the hosts back on top for the lats time at 26-24 before LCC junior tied it on a left-handed banker with 3:11 to go. Williams regained the lead for LCC with a layup, followed by another layin from senior post Tae Rios.
Bulldog sophomore Ashleigh Rush sank a 12-footer to pull the hosts within 30-28 heading to the final stanza.
A conventional three-point play on a lane leaner by Gossard inched Ada within 32-31 at the 6:29 mark. Archer tied it for the last time 33-all on two foul shots with 5:33 remaining.
The burly Williams muscled inside to convert a three-point play inside that ignited a backbreaking 13-4 spurt. Gossard canned a pair at the line, but then LCC reeled off 10 unanswered points on six foul shots and two layups to put it out of reach.
A Conley basket with 30 seconds left stopped the flurry, but Mary Kay Mulcahy sank three foul shots to offset a 14-foot bucket by Coulson. Rios scored on a putback to close out the scoring and provide the deceptive final margin of 12 points.
"We have been playing a lot of 2-3 zone lately and it is harder to find a person to block out from a zone," explained Taflinger of the rebound margin. "Then when Rilan got in foul trouble, it really hurt us because she gets after it on the boards."
Gossard topped Ada with 11 points and six rebounds. Conley and Archer each contributed eight points.
Williams tallied 13 points and Mary Kay Mulcahy added 11 for the T-Birds.
Ada drained eight two-point goals and hit five treys, and converted eight of nine (89 percent) at the foul line.
LCC knocked down 15 field goals, including three triples, and shot a whopping 34 free throws, connecting on 18 (53 percent).
LCC also won a two-quarter reserve game, 24-2.
Ada 39 (2-8)
M. Gossard 3 3-3 11, Coulson 2 0-0 5, Archer 1 5-6 8, England 2 0-0 5, Conley 4 0-0 8, Wills 0, Rush 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 13/8-9/39. 3-pointers: M. Gossard 2, Archer 1, England 1, Coulson 1.
LCC 51 (1-12)
Santaguida 1 0-2 2, Morrisey 1 0-0 2, Mohler 0 1-3 1, Wilker 2 4-6 8, E. Mulcahy 2 3-4 8, M.K. Mulcahy 2 5-6 11, Williams 4 5-13 13, Rios 3 0-0 6.
Totals: 15/18-34/51. 3-pointer: M.K. Mulcahy 2, E. Mulcahy 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 8 9 11 11 39
LCC 9 12 9 21 51
JV: LCC 24, Ada 2.
Ada looks for its first home win in six tries when it hosts county rival Kenton (6-2) at noon Saturday.
"They are pretty good," said Taflinger of the Wildcats. "It will probably be our toughest non-league game of the season. They will press and get after us.
"We have to figure out how to get more offense. We are taking baby steps right now. But we are not getting blown out," he added.
