Fort Scott Tribune: College Sports: Last 5 minutes deadly for 'Hounds (12/03/09)

Fort Scott's Brittany Demery goes for a layup during the first half of play Wednesday night. Demery scored 8 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for the Greyhounds in a 91-84 loss to Neosho County.
(Fort Scott Community College photo/Drew Johnson)

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Fort Scott Community College's women stumbled in the last five minutes of play at Arnold Arena Wednesday night, scoring one field goal in that stretch as Neosho County rallied for a 91-84 victory in the Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division opener for both teams.

The Greyhounds (5-4) led 72-66 but were held to 1 of 5 field-goal shooting and 2 rebounds in the final 5:03. Meanwhile, the visiting Panthers (3-6) went 10 of 14 from the field, grabbed 9 boards and committed just 1 turnover.

Fort Scott head coach Diana Couch, who coached at Neosho for three seasons, doesn't have much of a problem with the effort she saw her team put forth in the first 35 minutes. But she feels that if her team could put together 40 minutes, they could have a much better record.

"It's mental things going into conference," Couch said. "First half, I think if we'd have played that way against everyone else, we'd be 8-0. Where they got us was that we didn't take care of the ball at the crucial moments toward the end of the game. I think Valencia Kelly made some decisions that weren't the right ones for our team at that moment."

Neosho County didn't take the lead sooner because it couldn't help fouling. The Panthers committed 31 fouls on the night, giving the 'Hounds 43 free-throw attempts, of which they made 29. Shadara Hampton made more free throws by herself in going 15 of 22 than Neosho attempted (7 of 14).

It took a 10-2 run for the Panthers to finally gain the lead, 80-79, with 2:40 left when Bjonee Reaves stepped up to hit a three-point shot. Moments later Kasey Teich -- who played at Neosho last season -- made a 3-point shot to put the 'Hounds back in front for the last time.

Kristin Aldridge, who led Neosho County with 24 points on 11-of-16 field-goal shooting, put the Panthers back in front with 1:42 to go. Allison Babcock then hit a triple to make it 85-82. Esperanza Ornelas put back a teammate's miss with :48 left to make it a 5-point lead.

Neosho County shot 53 percent from the field on the night, making 40 of 75 field-goal attempts. Fort Scott was 24 of 56 overall for 43 percent, but went just 8 for 23 in the second half.

Jayme Jackson added 18 points for the Panthers while Angela Johnson and Cheylene Harper each chipped in with 12. Uniontown High School graduate Riley Stephens scored 5 points and dished 4 assists for Neosho.

Hampton led the 'Hounds with 25 points while Kelly added 20 even though she was just 8 of 24 from the field. Teich went 5 of 8 from the floor in finishing with 15 points and Tashanda Jackson scored 10.

Neosho County used a 10-point run to build a 14-5 lead early in the first half. The 'Hounds tightened things up, finally taking the lead at 35-33 with 3:21 to go after a 11-2 run of their own.

Stephens hit a three to put Neosho back in front. But Fort Scott ended the half with an 8-0 run to take a 43-36 lead into the locker room.

Neosho County scored 12 straight points to go up 54-48 with 14:20 left in the game but the 'Hounds responded with an 11-2 spurt to go up 59-56 with 10:25 to go.

NEOSHO COUNTY: Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Babcock 2-6 0-0 6, Stephens 2-6 0-0 5, Johnson 5-7 2-2 12, Standlee 0-1 0-0 0, Aldridge 11-16, 2-4 24, McKinney 0-0 0-0 0, Reaves 2-12 1-3 6, Jackson 8-11 2-2 18, Harper 6-10 0-1 12, Ornelas 1-2 0-2 2, Henderson 3-4 0-0 0, Blocker 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 40-75 7-14 91.

FORT SCOTT: Stambaugh 0-0 2-2 2, Bloodworth 1-1 0-0 2, Teich 5-8 2-2 15, Hampton 4-11 15-22 25, Mattox 1-2 0-0 2, Demery 2-4 4-5 8, Kelly 8-24 2-7 20, Hathaway 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 3-5 4-5 10. TOTALS: 24-56 29-43 84.

Halftime: Fort Scott, 43-36.

Three-point field goals: Neosho County 4-15 (Babcock 2-5, Stephens 1-4, Reaves 1-5, Johnson 0-1), Fort Scott 7-17 (Teich 3-5, Hampton 2-4, Kelly 2-8).

Total fouls: Neosho County 31, Fort Scott 17. Fouled out: Stephens, Johnson, Reaves. Technical fouls: none.

Rebounds: Neosho County 42 (Harper 10), Fort Scott 39 (Demery 9). Assists: Neosho County 16 (Reaves 7), Fort Scott 11 (Teich 5). Turnovers: Neosho County 21, Fort Scott 27. Steals: Neosho County 12 (Johnson 4), Fort Scott 10 (Kelly 3). Blocked shots: Neosho County 2 (Johnson, Aldridge), Fort Scott 2 (Hathaway 2).