A game with 63 turnovers (24 by the Lady Wildcats), 54 fouls (28 for Delphos), four foul-outs (3 by Jefferson) and 73 free throws (39 by the ’Cats) could fall under that category.
In the end, Jefferson could not take advantage of all those free throws and miscues, falling 55-49 at The Hornets’ Nest.
The Wildcats (5-11) hit 15 singles (38.5%), including a downright chilly 2-of-17 in the final quarter.
“If we hit our free throws, we win the game; it comes down to that. It might have been a matter of fatigue because we had to fight so hard to come back,” Jefferson mentor Dave Hoffman began. “It really became a mental thing after we missed a few. Cory-Rawson missed a few, too (9-of-18 in the fourth) but they split theirs. We missed 2-shot tries.”
The saving grace for the Lady Hornets (3-14) was their shooting from the field — 17-of-31, 2-of-6 triples, for 54.8 percent. Seniors Kelsey Conway (7 boards) and Catie Barlekamp (4 assists, 4 steals) led the way 15 and 12 markers, respectively, while Lauren Mattice (4 assists) added 11. They shot 55.9 percent on free throws (making 19).
“We hung on for dear life. This was our fourth game this week and it started to show late,” Lady Hornet coach Liz Bock observed. “Jefferson turned up the pressure and we got a bit spastic. We found a way to get it done in the longest fourtth quarter ever. We put together four quarters.”
The visitors didn’t have the ability to overcome the free-throw woes as they only canned 15-of-56 from the field (4-of-15 3s) for 26.8 percent. Freshmen Bridget Culp (4 steals before fouling out) and Emily Fought (4 thefts) popped in 13 and 10, respectively (both with 2 bombs) and junior Ashley Watkins (7 boards before fouling out) and sophomore Stephanie Blockberger added eight each.
Rawson led 46-34 to commence that frenetic fourth. It quickly became 13 but with the Hornets not registering a shot from the field and committing 14 miscues, Jefferson had its chance. Despite its struggles from the line and the floor (5-of-18), plus adding eight errors, they steadily closed the gap, getting within 54-49 on a 3-ball by Culp with 20 ticks left. Alas for the Red and Black, Culp fouled out shortly after and the Hornets hung on.
Despite its troubles with Jefferson’s pressure defense from the start (8 miscues) and with Culp scoring six in the first, the Hornets hit all four of their shots and 5-of-6 singles to rally for a 13-11 lead — which they never lost — when Gloria Basinger (10 caroms before fouling out) scored a deuce from close in with 13 ticks to go.
The Jeffcats started 4-of-16 but got seven offensive boards (18 overall of their total of 32) in the opener.
The hosts took control of the glass in period 2, outrebounding their guests 14-5 (6-1 offensive). It helped them add to their margin, leading by as much as 11 late in the canto. When Blockberger hit a turnaround in the lane with 11 ticks left, the lead was re-duced to 31-22.
“That was another area, too; we missed some good shots early and Cory-Rawson was hitting theirs, especially the first half. We missed layups; they hit 10-footers,” Hoffman added. “We got more aggressive the second half; that’s a credit to the girls for fighting to the end. This game — this year — has been a learning experience, how to win games. We have no seniors; they had five and those girls led the way.”
Try as they might, the Jeffcats could not get their deficit below seven in the third, despite six from Watkins. As the foul woes deepened, the Hornets slowly erected a bigger lead, reaching 14 at one point, before a Watkins drive with 9.1 seconds showing put it at 46-34.
Culp and sophomore Jenna Miller (who also fouled out with four steals) grabbed six boards for the visitors. They host Columbus Grove Thursday.
Cory-Rawson nabbed 43 boards (11 offensive) as Chelsea Wickham added seven. They visit Leipsic Thursday.
Jefferson’s JVs (5-11), led by the nine of Morgan Fischbach, owned the Hornets (2-11) 38-20. Kassi Verhoff netted six for the home team
