When Logan County fans replay Friday's 59-45 loss to Greenwood in the regional semifinals, they're going to spend some sad moments playing the Coulda,
Woulda, Shoulda game.
There's no question that the team could have beaten the Lady Gators. And they would have, if they hadn't gone through some serious lapses
during unfortunate intervals in the course of the game. Whether they should have won is not as certain. The two teams appeared pretty even in
talent and athletic ability.
The biggest lapse came during a scoreless stretch just five seconds short of seven minutes. During that nightmare of futility, the Lady Gators reversed
a 22-21 deficit into a 35-22 lead. During that shutout, the Lady Cougars made five turnovers in the last two minutes of the first half, missed their
first six shots of the second half, picked third personal fouls on three players, and lost a potential all-tournament player to an injury.
The most costly 22 seconds of the game for Logan came as the half ended. Trailing 25-22 but with a chance to take the last shot of the half, the Lady
Cougars turned the ball over. Greenwood did hold the ball for a last shot and worked the ball inside to Ali Hart with three seconds showing. She was
not only drew super sub Miranda Rone's third foul, but Rone- who had scored 16 points in relief two games earlier- came down wrong on her ankle. She
never returned to the game.
Hart missed the free throw and Lady Cougar Kayla MacAllister got the rebound. But disaster struck when MacAllister underestimated the Gators' resolve.
Greenwood guard Chelsea Johnson intercepted a soft bounce pass near her basket and threw the ball in the goal as the buzzer sounded. Momentum and a
five-point lead were on the Lady Gators' side while Sara Speck and Shannon MacAllister were almost carrying Rone to the dressing room.
Logan didn't end its drought until 3:45 remained in the third quarter when senior Ann Dorris got an offensive rebound, converted a spin move into a
goal, and hit an accompanying foul shot. She hit a couple of more free throws a little over a minute later, and then fired an assist to Speck, who got
a 3-pointer to fall. Then Dorris completed a personal super three minutes when she made a steal and hit a layup. Suddenly Dorris' team had cut a 35-22
deficit to 39-32. That ended the scoring in the third quarter. Logan was 3 of 11 from the field in the half with Dorris going 2 of 3.
Logan looked to be in position to win when Meagan Williams hit a 3-pointer eighth seconds into the final period, cutting the 13-point margin to four.
Then came the final costly series of events: 1) The rebound of Jaylin Jones' open shot from the head of the key went out-of-bounds off Speck. 2)
Victoria Elliott stole the inbounds pass but Dorris missed a 3-pointer. 3) Elliott hustled for the rebound but then stepped on the line. 4) Michelle
England tied up Lady Gator Molly Lamb, but one official overruled another and called England for her third foul. 5) Lamb hit both free throws, the
start of six straight successful foul shots by the Lady Gators in slightly over a minute.
Speck ended the run by hitting two shots, but Greenwood answered each time. The Lady Cougars (18-12) never threatened again.
Greenwood hit 14 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter. In contrast, the Lady Cougars shot only 15 free throws for the game, hitting just 8. The Lady
Gators also had only 13 turnovers as compared to Logan's 22.
Speck, who has to have been in the top 10 in Lady Cougar history in minutes played over her four-year varsity career, fouled out with 2:15 remaining.
She had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals in her final game Dorris, a key contributor in her two seasons after moving back to her parents'
home county from Texas, added 11 points, 3 assists and a steal. England, a third senior who overcame what could have been a career-ending broken hand
in late season, played the most minutes for the Lady Cougars with 29. Junior Kayla MacAllister hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished
with 8 points.
Greenwood (22-10) moved on to Saturday's finals to play Bowling Green, which beat 13th District champion Franklin-Simpson 65-48 in the opening
semifinal. Johnson scored 18 with Lamb and Katelyn Thomason added 11 each.
Score by Quarters:
1) GHS 12-10, 2) 27-22, 3) 39-32, Final) Greenwood 59, Logan County 45
LCHS (45)
Sara Speck 15, Ann Dorris 11, Kayla MacAllister 8, Meagan Williams 5, Miranda Rone 3, Michelle England 2, Shannon MacAllister 1, Victoria Elliott,
Jaylin Jones, Markita Pheal, Meg Brown, Kara Lyons, Polly Coleman, Kate Brooks
GHS (59)
Chelsea Johnson 18, Molly Lamb 11, Katelyn Thomason 11, Ali Hart 7, Samantha Sergent 4, Dylan Carter 4, Meagan Bridges 3, Morgan White 1, Edwards,
Miller, Gaiko, Higgins