Season stays alive for the Lady Flames
Photo by Jaclyn DeVries
Lady Flames basketball is advancing to the second round of the Gulf South Conference [GSC] Tournament after pulling off a dramatic one-point, come back win in Pensacola, Florida on Tuesday, March 1.
The Lady Flames were in the wake of an 11-point loss to Shorter on the previous Thursday.
That loss had cost them home-court advantage for round 1 of the GSC Tournament, forcing the Lady Flames to play West Florida on the road, knowing the winner would move on to round two while the loser would have another chance in 2017.
'We came off of a loss, so we were so ready to play,' Senior Lady Flame Kayla Beavers said. 'We didn't want our season to end.'
After the first quarter on Tuesday night, the game had an ominous feeling for Lady Flames' fans. West Florida had jumped to an 11-point lead entering the second quarter.
Lady Flame Erin Walsh, who scored a game high 26-points Tuesday night, said they had fought through deficits this season, so she was confident it was still anyone's game going into the second quarter.
'Last time we played we were down big in the first half and came back and went into double overtime,' Walsh said. 'I knew if we played hard and didn't give up, we'd be in a good place.'
Despite going 0-6 from beyond the arc as a team in the first half, the Lady Flames brought the game back to within five points at halftime.
'Being only down five and not making a three, I thought was huge especially for us being a really good 3-point shooting team,' Head Coach Marty Rowe said. 'Early in the game we pressed a little bit and we took bad shots, but [at halftime] we talked about it and we finally relaxed and got the ball moving a little bit. We didn't try to do to much and then we were fine.'
The Lady Flames will travel to Birmingham, Alabama to face off against Union University on Friday, March 4. The winner will move on to compete in the GSC Tournament final.
Union has led the GSC for most of the season, and won both times they met the Lady Flames this season.
'I know how hard we have to play in order to win on Friday,' Freshman Lady Flame Haris Price said. 'At this point, I think the team that does the little things throughout the game like getting rebounds, diving for loose balls and getting more defensive stops will come out with the win. I'm excited; it should be a really fun game to play in.'
