No matter what level of play, games just don’t get any more competitive than the nip and tuck girls game between the O’Bannon Lady Waves and Northside Lady Gators Tuesday night.
The visiting Lady Gators won 57-53
The game came down to the last two minutes of play. With the score tied at 47 with 2:02 mark of the final quarter, O’Bannon head coach Isaac Morris called a timeout as both teams were gassed.
After the timeout, Charlesa Barney continued her spirited play by pushing the pace and getting to the basket for two quick baskets. O’Bannon led 51-47.
Northside’s Jala Ward followed the quick Lady Greenwaves run with a steal, a hoop and completion of an old fashion three point play. She penetrated to the basket on the play and found a wide open teammate for a layup which put the Lady Gators up 54-51 with one minute remaining.
During this stretch run, Lady Waves forward Joyia Clark fouled out.
“That took a lot away from us on both ends of the floor when she fouled out,” Morris said. “She is our tallest player so it hurt our interior defense and rim protection and she scores for us a lot on offense.” Clark’s teammates failed to foul the Lady Gators in the final minute to stop the clock. Northside scored a three pointer as time expired.
As a testament to how competitive the contest was, in one of the moments when the gym was relatively quiet, a visiting fan exclaimed, “what a game! What a game!” as the first half concluded.
“Last time that we played them, the result was the same,” Morris said. “ We were the visiting team we won by four just like they did on our floor tonight. We’re both tied for second in the district and could possibly see each other again in the playoffs depending on how the brackets are set up.”
