The sweetness of victory was so close the Lady Cougars and their fans could almost taste it. Two free throws at the other end of the court in the
final second of the final game of the regular season turned the taste to sour.
Greenwood’s C.J. Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining in the game Friday to give the Lady Gators a 50-48 win at the end of
a memorable evening in Cougarland.
Leading at some junctures and forging impressive comebacks in others, the Lady Cougars had possession of the ball in a tie game with 11 seconds
remaining in regulation. In the huddle of a timeout, Coach Scot MacAllister called for a play with a number of options.
He was pleased to see the ball in the hands of junior guard Ann Dorris, who had hit some big 3-pointers and led the team in scoring with 16
points. But Dorris gave it up quickly to senior guard Jenna Wilson, who relishes having the ball in her hands in stressful situations. It didn’t stay
there long enough, however, as the Lady Gators engulfed her as she drove the lane.
Johnson made the steal with slightly under four seconds showing. Michelle England, who had joined Wilson and Dorris in making some huge plays
during the game, gave chase. She went for the ball as Johnson put up a running layup, but she was called for the foul, and Johnson calmly sank the game
winners.
The Lady Cougars put together an impressive run in the first quarter. England and Dorris hit consecutive treys, Markita Pheal powered in a shot
and England dropped in a drive to put the home team up 17-9 at the first break.
Greenwood got its act together and tied the score repeatedly. After each tie, however, Logan responded to regain the lead. Wilson hit a short
jumper and then found Kayla MacAllister for a goal. Dorris hit a trey on an inside-out assist from Sarah Speck. The Lady Cougars led 30-29 at the half
on Williams’ 3-pointer.
The Lady Gators led 43-35 in the third quarter, but Dorris hit another 3-pointer, Speck made a steal, and Wilson swished a 3-pointer on that
possession to pull her team to within two. Greenwood led 46-42 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was low scoring. Greenwood managed only two points in the first 7:59.4 minutes. Logan scored only six, however. One of them
came on Wilson’s 6-footer on a rebound. On the Lady Cougars’ fifth chance to tie the game, Dorris connected. It was 46-46.
The Lady Cougars had four more possessions that could have given them the lead, but none were successful. Whitney Killebrew broke the tie on a
bank shot for the winners’ only field goal of the final stanza to give GHS the lead with 2:41 remaining.
Speck tied it for the final time at 1:03 on a 15-footer set up by a Dorris pass.
Logan’s chance to win came after Pheal made a steal at midcourt with 26 seconds remaining. She missed her shot but Logan got the rebound, setting
up the final sequence of events.
The Lady Cougars have a number of injuries. Victoria Elliott played briefly but was slowed down by an ankle injury. Freshman Shannon MacAllister
is out for the season with a bone bruise that has become infected. Also out are Rone and Blick.
Greenwood’s record improved to 11-17 while preparing for a 14th District encounter with Warren East. Logan fell to 12-10 going into
Monday’s 6:30 p.m. 13th District game against host Franklin-Simpson.
Score by quarters:
1) LCHS 17-9, 2) 30-29, 3) GHS 46-42, Final)
Greenwood 50, Logan County 48
GHS (50)
Whitney Killebrew 14, Jen Wetzel 12, C.J. Johnson 9, M. Lamb 8, Thomason 2, Smith 2
LCHS (48)
Ann Dorris 16, Michelle England 9, Jenna Wilson 7, Sarah Speck 6, Meagan Williams 6, Markita Pheal 2, Kayla MacAllister 2, V. Elliott, J. Elliott
The Cougar boys started strong and then disappeared in the twinbill opener.
Senior Chris Covington hit two straight goals to pull the Cougars to within 16-14. Their last push for the lead came on a runner by Seth
McReynolds to make the Gators’ margin 18-16.
Greenwood then took over the game. They took advantage of sloppy passing out front by Logan for steals, and then they drove the baseline at will
for layups. Greenwood had scored 14 straight points to double the score at 32-16 before Logan freshman Twin Lancaster broke the run with a 6-foot
left-handed banker. The Cougars had gone slightly over five minutes without a point.
The Cougars scored only two more points in the half, that on a Twin (Lancaster) turnaround. The Gators led 42-20 at the half. The defending
regional champions won 78-41 to run their record to 13-15.
Dee Anderson, who was on his way to being one of the state’s best players before being injured in football during the fall of 2007, looked good in
this one, scoring 21 points for the Gators.
McReynolds scored 13, Covington 11 and Lancaster 10 for Logan, which will take a 4-20 record to Franklin to take on the Wildcats. Franklin’s
coaches and team were at the game watching the Cougars.
Score by quarters:
1) GHS 20-16, 2) 42-20, 3) 56-34, Final)
Greenwood 78, Logan County 41
GHS (78)
Dee Anderson 21, J.J. Smith 20, Will Clayton 10, Stumbo 8, Guess 6, Iverson 6, Wiltuhn 4, Rayburn 3
LCHS (41)
Seth McReynolds 13, Chris Covington 11, Twin Lancaster 10, Brett Sowell 2, Derrod Blakey 2, Thomas Washington 2, Jonathan Barbee 1, Graham, Watson,
Coleman, Parks